A Base Connection
by Artemis Kath
Summary: Start with one trainer-hating teen with the ability to understand Pokemon. Add a smart-alec Persian, a lost Charmander, a Pidgey with an attitude, a trouble-making redhead, an obsessed Dratini and assorted other nuts. Sit back and wait for the chaos.
1. Linguistic Talents

It was a warm, summer morning in Pallet Town. A soft breeze was blowing and the pidgeys singing in the trees was a welcome sound for most people to awaken to. For others, however, it was the furthest thing from pleasant.

"Why is it always outside my damn window?" Jay growled, slamming the window closed as an extremely tone-deaf pidgey warbled in the tree outside. He stumbled back over to his bed, landing face-first into his pillow and trying to go back to sleep. He was just starting to drift off when something heavy landed on his bed, the jostle waking him back up.

"Not now, Roufas... it's too early." He said, his words muffled by the pillow.

"Feed me, then go back to sleep." Roufas said simply, pushing on Jay's leg.

"How about you nap for a couple hours and try again?" Jay suggested, not wanting to move. "Or better yet, go eat the pidgey outside my window... I hate her so... freaking... much..." He gritted his teeth with the last few words, biting into his pillow.

"It's only her singing that needs work, she's nice enough otherwise." Roufas commented, looking out the window. "Besides, I make it a point not to eat my friends."

Jay glanced down at the large, tan mass of fur perched on the foot of his bed. "You are the strangest Persian I've ever met, you know that?"

Roufas chuckled, turning his golden eyes to Jay's dark brown ones. "As humans go, you're far from normal yourself. I think that's why we get along so well. Now are you going to feed me, or do I have to start gnawing on your toes to get you moving?"

"Fine..." Jay muttered, crawling out of bed.

He stumbled into the kitchen, quickly pulled a container from the fridge, dumped the contents into Roufas' bowl without even looking at was it was, and wandered back to the cozy comfort of his blankets. He didn't have a chance to fully relax before Roufas landed on his bed again.

"What now?" He groaned.

"Nothing that important..." Roufas began in a rather sarcastic tone. "...but you know that box of white stuff you put in the fridge to keep the smell under control?"

Jay opened his eyes slightly, knowing where the conversation was headed. "I poured it in your bowl, didn't I?"

"That you did."

"Damn it..." Jay complained, getting back up.

---

After fixing the minor food situation, Jay decided he might as well stay up, even though it was only just after six. Today was going to be rather hectic anyway, it usually was. Every second week in June for the past five years, he and four of his closest friends got together and went on a camping trip to the Viridian Forest. The first day was usually the worst, all of them running around packing at the last second and not even getting to the campsite until dusk. This time was going to be different, according to Sam at least. They had all agreed to be packed by noon at the latest. Jay quickly went to packing, not wanting to hear Sam complain about him holding them up.

It didn't take long to find everything. Getting it all stuffed into his backpack however, was another story entirely. After trying to arrange everything to fit for almost two hours with no luck, and a handful of sarcastic comments from Roufas, he decided to go find a second bag to hold the excess supplies in. When Jay walked back into the room, he found Roufas sticking his head into the open backpack.

"What the hell are you doing in there?" Jay asked with a sigh.

Roufas removed his face from the bag, along with a rather thick book that landed next to him. "Wondering why you're taking a library with you." He said, placing his front paw on the book he just removed and looking at the three others next to it. "You're going camping, Jay. I'm sure you won't need all this to read. I'm sure Magnus will find a way to keep everyone entertained."

"By causing trouble, like he usually does? No thanks. It's bad enough the cops in Viridian City know me on sight because of him after what happened last year. I felt like such a fool for letting him talk me into that. I'm just glad the charges were dropped."

"It was nice to have the place to myself for the three days you were locked up, though."

"Nice to know you care about me, Roufas." Jay mumbled sarcastically, kneeling down to shuffle things around in his backpack again. Without the books, there was enough room for everything to fit neatly.

"Of course I care. Without you around, I'd have to go back to Tracy." The Persian closed his eyes as he thought about it, then shuddered. "I don't think I could handle that."

"How many times do I have to remind you? She's your... trainer." Jay strained to say it. He never cared for the term, or how they went about doing things. It just didn't seem right to him for some reason.

"So? By the time I was born, she'd given up on that wandering life and was too focused on other things, like you, to pay me much mind. She was always more attentive to her human family than her pokemon one after she settled down. At least according to my Mother."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm glad you were there with your..." He paused, thinking of the best way to put it."...linguistic talents. I mean, Tracy had originally planned to call me Fluffy. Talk about horrific."

Jay laughed, taking one of the books off the floor and putting it into the backpack. There was just enough room for it. "No kidding. Fluffy's a cute name, it wouldn't suit you at all."

Roufas narrowed his eyes as Jay stood up, hoisting the pack onto his shoulder. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"That you're too serious, scary and soft. Especially soft around the gut. You need to get out more." He said as he left the room to go set the pack by his front door.

Roufas glared at Jay's back as he went. "Again with the weight jabs. Looks like he's going to be missing a pair of shoes when he gets back." He muttered.

---

After a quick breakfast, Jay double-checked that everything was in order and headed out the door to see how everyone else was coming along with their packing. He glanced at his watch as he hurried through town, it was almost ten, plenty of time to help out anyone that was behind schedule. He skidded to a stop at the front door of a rather small house and reached for the pokeball-shaped doorbell when the lock clicked open.

A teenager in a blue t-shirt and jeans stepped into the doorway. His long, unkempt black hair obscuring half his face. He regarded Jay for a moment, looked as if he was going to say something, and then turned away.

Jay watched him, wondering what was wrong. "You okay, Daniel? It's not like you to be this quiet."

Daniel shook his head. "It's about the trip. I..." He trailed off, scratching his head and trying to think of the best way to put it.

"If you haven't started packing yet, I can give you a hand. It looks like you just got out of bed."

"No... I packed last night, but not for the camping trip."

"If not for that, then what?" Jay blinked, an unpleasant thought coming into his mind. "Wait, you're not moving, are you?!"

"What? No!" Daniel said quickly. "Nothing like that, but... do you remember that tournament Sam brought up a while back?"

"Tournament?" Jay tried to remember, but Sam was always going on about one event or another. The most recent one was supposed to have been held a couple weeks ago. "Yeah, that couples tournament in Saffron. I thought you two were going to that, wasn't it last month?"

Daniel nodded. "It was supposed to be. Now it's starting in ten days, and I promised Sam we would enter together. Sam insisted we take the long way and train on the road, which means we're not going to make the camping trip. Sorry."

"Wha? But... what made them push the tournament date back?"

"Part of the arena being blasted to bits. They needed time to repair it."

"Blasted to..." Jay began, but was able to guess what had happened. The same thing that always happened to cause chaos. "Team Rocket again?" He asked with a sigh.

"Who else?" Daniel shrugged. "I guess you might want to just wait on the trip until we get back. It probably wouldn't be the same with just two of you going."

"Three." Jay corrected him. "Me, Magnus and Lana."

Daniel looked at him, clearly surprised even with half his face covered. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Magnus was in an accident yesterday. He's in the hospital, probably will be for a while."

"What?!" Jay exclaimed. "What happened?!"

"You know Mag, he was being a showoff. Tried to make a jump on his bike to impress someone and it didn't end well. He got bashed up pretty bad, and fractured his right kneecap. He's lucky he didn't land on concrete."

"That idiot... is he going to be okay?

"Yeah, he just won't be able to walk for a while."

Jay sighed. "I'll have to pay him a visit before I leave then."

Daniel raised his only visible eyebrow. "You're seriously going even if it might just be you and Lana?"

"If it comes to it, I'll go alone." He said, turning to leave. "Good luck in the tournament, Danny."

Daniel started to ask why Jay was so insistent on going, but he had already run off. Daniel just shook his head and went back inside, knowing that if Jay had the idea of going planted in his head, there was no talking him out of it. He was almost as stubborn as Magnus was reckless.

---

Jay headed to what passed as downtown Pallet, a small collection of shops, the post office, the only bar in town and a pair of five-story apartment buildings. He went into one of the apartments, climbed to the third floor and knocked on the door to room 302. Someone called out from inside, and the dull thumping of quick footsteps approached. The door opened with a creak, the face of a girl with short black hair appearing around the corner.

"Oh, hi Jay. Roufas with you?" She asked as she pushed her head through the barely-open doorway and looked around for any sign of the Persian.

"Hey, Lana. Nah, he's back at home, probably attempting to add on a couple more pounds." He answered, smirking at her nervous expression. It was always the same with her. After a... misunderstanding, she thought Roufas was out to get her "little buddy" as she called him. He supposed it must have looked that way at the time, though.

She opened the door, took a step back and looked off to the left. "See? It's just Jay, no reason to be paranoid. Now come on, we need to get going!"

A blur of purple streaked across her living room floor, vanishing with a thud into an open, red backpack laying on its side by her couch. Lana rolled her eyes, walking over to the backpack and hoisting it over her shoulder. "Have it your way, then. I told Magnus we'd visit and I'm in no mood to argue with you about getting into your pokeball."

"Normal problems?" Jay asked.

"Oh yeah..." She replied dryly. "I was just going to the hospital, you heard about-"

"Magnus landing gracefully on his head?" He interrupted. "Yeah. I was planning to see him after I stopped here, we can go together."

"Great." Lana stepped into the hallway, turning to close and lock the door.

There was a shuffle of movement from the backpack and something pink poked out of the top. A high-pitched, panicked voice quickly followed. "AHHHH!!! I can't see! Get it off get it off get it offfffff!"

Jay sighed. "Calm as ever, aren't you?" He commented, lifting the pink cloth off the creature's head.

The small, purple and white head that had been hidden beneath it whipped around frantically, a pair of reddish eyes soon coming to rest on Jay. "Oh. Thanks." The rattata said in a shaky voice, sinking far enough into the pack so only his eyes and ears were visible. "Roufas really isn't here?" He asked.

Jay shook his head.

"That's too bad... I was hoping to have someone to talk to that both understood me and could answer. You're going to be as quiet as always, aren't you?"

Jay nodded.

"Would it be that bad if you talked to me once in a while?"

"They'd throw me in the nut house." Jay sighed.

"What?" Lana got the door locked and turned to face him. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you over Hickory's squeaking." She looked over her shoulder at the rattata. "I hope you're not going to be this vocal in the hospital."

"He'll be fine. I was just saying that-" Lana cut him off with a shout.

"What are you holding?!"

"Huh?" Jay glanced down at the pink cloth still in his hand. "This? It was on his head so... oh..." He trailed off, just realizing what it was.

Lana swiftly snatched it and stuffed it into her backpack, nearly clobbering Hickory as she did. He let out a surprised squeak, falling out of sight and scrambling around inside her backpack. He let out a muffled cry of "Panties!" and there was a little more scuffling before he quieted down.

Jay scratched his head, looking away nervously. "Er... sorry. I didn't know it was... that."

"Just forget it." Lana said quickly, her face turning a light shade of red as she started toward the stairs.

---

They followed the sidewalk without a word, each still embarrassed. Jay turned his attention across the street, noticing a rather large man with a backpack to match talking to a younger kid in a green outfit. They looked like father and son, the man's tan pants were covered in dirt and grass stains, as if he had just some out of a forest. Maybe he had just gotten back from a trip. That's when Jay remembered why he had gone to see Lana in the first place.

"I suppose it'd be pointless to ask if you're still planning to go on the camping trip, since it'd just be the two of us." He said, not looking away from the people across the street.

"Oh... that. Yeah, my parents would freak if we were alone in the woods together for a week." She mumbled.

"That never stopped you before." He said with a shrug. "Hell, you'd think going out there with four guys would be worse."

She laughed. "True. They never liked our little outings. Really though, I think it wouldn't be as interesting without Magnus to cause some chaos. Not to mention Daniel's the only one with any real survival training, and Sam... has... um..." She slowed down, trying to think.

"Has Crest to douse any fires Magnus starts." Jay pointed out, referring to his friend's squirtle.

"Right." She smiled, noticing the hospital as they turned a corner.

Hospital might have been too grand a term for it. It was only two stories tall, had seven patient rooms and only two doctors on call at any given time, since only two lived in the town. Luckily it never had much to deal with apart from standard illnesses, checkups and tumbles. Magnus' accident was probably the most exciting thing to happen there in a few months. If anything, it was a glorified clinic.

They went inside and up to the patients rooms. The sound of a television led them right to Magnus, who was in the only occupied room and flipping channels boredly with left hand, since his right was in a splint. His right leg was in a cast, hung up at the foot of the bed. He didn't even notice them until Lana coughed.

"Lana, Jay! About time you guys came to visit." He said as he looked up at them and switched off the television. "I don't think I'm going to make the camping trip this year, sorry." He said with a grin.

"Nobody is. Dan and Sam are off to some tournament, and it wouldn't be as much fun without you around." Lana said. "I think we're just going to put it off until you get better and they get back."

"Is that right?" Magnus asked, brushing a few stands of his red hair out of his face. "I'm flattered."

"I wouldn't be." Jay smirked.

The phone on the table by the bed rang. Magnus glared at it, since it was on the right side of the bed. "Someone in this place has a sick sense of humor or something."

"I'll get it." Lana walked around the bed and grabbed the phone on the third ring. "Hello? ...yes, but. Okay. Fine, I'll get right on it." She sighed, hanging up the phone. "It's like she has radar."

"That was your Mother?" Magnus asked, knowing that was the usual expression Lana used to describe her.

"Yeah, I have to go get a few things." She grumbled. "I'll be back in a couple hours, okay Magnus?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm not going anywhere." He grinned.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you tried, though." She gave him a smile and headed out the door. "See you guys later."

A few moments of silence passed after she left before Magnus spoke. "You're still going, aren't you?"

Jay sat down on a chair against the wall that faced the bed. "Yep."

"Nobody to watch your back on the road?"

"Nope."

"And if you run into any wild pokemon?"

Jay shrugged. "I reason with them, run or fight if it comes to that. I'd like to get some use out of those self-defense classes."

"Reason with them." Magnus chuckled. "I doubt many people have that option."

"Hopefully at least one other person does, I'd rather not be a total freak of nature." Jay said, leaning back in his chair and looking at the ceiling. "You haven't told anyone, right?"

"Come on, Jay. You know I'm good at keeping secrets." Magnus said, looking a little hurt at the suggestion he'd betray his best friend's confidence. "Besides, if I did tell anyone they wouldn't believe me... and if they did, you have enough of my secrets to pay me back in spades."

"True." Jay grinned. "But that's your own fault for having to gloat about all the crap you got away with."

"What good is doing it if there's nobody to be impressed by it?"

"Isn't trying to impress someone what landed you in here?"

"Aw, shut up." Magnus said, trying not to laugh. "It was worth it though, I got her phone number."

"Watch it not be hers." Jay smirked. "I would've given you the number to the Viridian City shrink."

"Ha ha." He replied dryly. "So there a reason you're not leaving for the forest already? I know you just love being punctual."

"Other than to annoy you a little before I go? I wanted to know if I could borrow your bike, unless it was totaled in the accident."

"Oh right, you don't have any wheels. The bike's fine, I just fell off, the bike kept going and was stopped by a bush. You remember how to use the thing, right?"

"After hearing you explain it to me a thousand times every time I ask? Of course I don't have a clue." Jay said sarcastically, getting up. "Keys in the usual spot?"

Magnus shrugged with his good arm. "No idea, considering my parents had to take the thing home. If they're not hanging up, just grab the spare one."

"Right. Thanks, Mag." Jay said, starting to leave.

"No problem. Not like I can ride the thing for a while, anyway." Magnus flipped the switch for the TV on the bed. "Oh yeah, and say hi to Zed for me."

Jay gave him a backwards wave before making his way to the exit. He just had to grab his gear and he'd be off to the Viridian Forest.

---

_Nothing's ever easy for me, is it?_ Jay thought, rubbing his forehead as the unwelcome visitor waiting at his house persisted.

"You can't go alone, it's too dangerous!" The intruder continued.

"I'm going, I don't know how you found out, but I'm going. You're overreacting to nothing anyway." Jay said, hoisting the pack onto his back.

"Nothing?! What if you're hurt out there? Who'll help you?"

"I have a first aid kit and know how to treat the basics. For god's sake, you were expecting me to become a trainer and go on some idiotic journey when I was _ten_. Now I'm seventeen and you're freaking out over a camping trip." He turned to face her, crossing his arms. "Do you realize how little sense that makes, right Mom?"

She gave him a stern look. "Trainers have a lot to back them up."

"Don't start on the trainer lecture again. I have to go." He said, rolling his eyes and turning to leave.

"At least take Roufas with you! Here, I brought his pokeball along." She said, grabbing his arm and forcing the ball into his hand. "I wish you'd let me put him under your name, I never see him as it is so it wouldn't make a difference."

"I told you how I feel about the idea, let's leave it at that for now. I don't have time. I don't know where Roufas is anyway, so what good is this?"

"He's already in there. I tossed a few empty balls into your pack as well, you really need to catch one of your own if you won't take Roufas. All of your friends have a pokemon, you know."

"Magnus doesn't." Jay pointed out.

Tracy scowled. "That troublemaker doesn't count."

"Right, right. Fine, I'll take Roufas. Good-bye, Mom." He said quickly, doing his best not to sprint in the opposite direction but not keeping a casual pace either.

---

He didn't even look back until arriving at Magnus' house. He avoided the front and garage doors, going around to a large, wooden shed with a concrete path leading to the driveway from the double doors. He pulled the doors open, grinning as light fell on the motorcycle and sidecar stored inside. Considering they were hooked up, Jay assumed Magnus must have tried making the jump that landed him in the clinic with them in the same condition.

_No wonder he hurt himself, the idiot. _Jay thought, dropping his backpack in the sidecar and walking around it to the small countertop in the back of the shed. He noticed a duffel bag, box and a pair of sleeping bags resting on it and blinked. Camping equipment... Magnus had actually prepared ahead of time. Once the initial surprise wore off, Jay took the box and dropped it into sidecar as well, slapping himself mentally for not thinking of a tent before now. Then again, that was how they organized. Magnus brought the tent and sleeping bags, Jay brought ample medical supplies and some campfire stories from his book collection.

He stuffed in one of the sleeping bags in next to the boxed tent and reached under the counter, feeling around until he found the key taped to the underside of it. Peeling it off he went back to the motorcycle, dropping onto the seat and sliding the key into the ignition. He grabbed the red helmet that was hanging on left the handlebar and put it on. It was a little big, but probably better than going without one.

It took him a minute or two to remember how to drive the thing, since Magnus only let him try a few times and for all but one of those he was receiving constant reminders in one ear about what to do. It wasn't too hard to get it moving though, and he was off shortly after starting the engine. He tightened his grip on the handlebars and leaned forward, slightly oversized helmet beginning to slip down.

_Let's see, around an hour to get to Viridian City on this thing... good._ Jay mumbled to himself, turning onto the main road without slowing down. _Hopefully that'll be long enough for me to remember how to stop the damn thing._


	2. Less Than Isolated

Jay looked around the outpost that acted as a final rest stop for anyone venturing into the Viridian Forest. It had vending machines in the far corner, some benches, a public restroom, a small area that acted as a Pokemon center even though it couldn't handle anything too serious, and three video phones along the wall with dividers between them. Jay was standing at the far left phone, tapping his foot impatiently as the sixth ring sounded. He was about to just give up when the screen flickered from the waiting picture of a spinning pokeball to that of a tan, furry face.

"You've reached the Carrison residence, how may I direct your call?" Roufas said, somehow retaining his serious demeanor as Hickory scampered up his back and perched atop the Persian's head.

Jay shook his head at the pair of them. "Roufas, how many times do I have to tell you not to answer the phone at other people's houses?"

"I knew it was you because of the incoming call's location message, Lana went off to answer the door and technically, Hickory's the one that answered. He pushed the button." Roufas replied.

"Only because your paws are too big to just hit the answer button!" Hickory piped up.

Roufas twitched his head, making the Rattata grab some fur to keep from falling off. "Quiet, you."

"Well, I was only calling to see if you got back okay, anyway." Jay said, glancing over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching him. There were only a couple other people in the building, one was snoring on a bench and the other seemed to be having a struggle with one of the vending machines. No worries about being thought of as nuts for the moment. "It may not have been far out of town, but considering how little you leave the house I wondered if you could handle the walk. You gave the message and your pokeball to Lana for now, then?"

Roufas gave him an annoyed look. "Yes she got the note, and stop saying I'm out of shape."

"That's right!" Hickory squeaked. "He's in great shape! A perfect circle around the mid-YIPES!" Hickory flew out of sight as Roufas shook his head.

"That's enough of that." Roufas said, looking off to wherever Hickory landed.

Jay tried to keep from laughing. "It's times like this I'm surprised you haven't eaten him by now."

"It wouldn't be worth it. Not enough meat on him to even be a snack." Roufas shrugged.

"Aww, don't be cruel, Rou." Hickory said, climbing back up the Persian. "You know you wouldn't eat your best buddy!"

Roufas sighed. "You and Gail should both be thankful I prefer seafood over bite-sized critters and poultry."

Hickory seemed to flatten himself against Roufas' head at Gail's name. "I really wish she felt the same way..." He mumbled.

Roufas looked as if he was going to speak, but his ear twitched and he looked off at something. He waited a moment before moving away from the screen and Jay heard a door click open.

"Roufas, you better not going after my little buddy again." A stern voice said. "What in the... Jay?" Lana appeared on the screen, looking rather confused.

"Hey Lana, hope you don't mind Roufas playing receptionist. I taught him how to answer the phone at my place and hang up on unwanted callers."

Lana remained dumbfounded for a moment before speaking. "Why did you go off on your own? You should have at least taken Roufas for protection from wild Pokemon!"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Good God, you sound like my Mother. Are you going to grill me about bringing along clean underpants next?"

From somewhere off-screen, Hickory squeaked. "Underpants? Where?!"

"Pipe down, Hickory." Lana scolded him. "Seriously, Jay. You should come back. We can all go on the trip in three weeks or so, I don't know why you're being so stubborn about the date."

Jay scratched his head, wondering how much he should say. "You know how I disappear once in a while when we're up here? Either alone or with Mag?"

Lana nodded.

"Well, I made a promise to someone shortly after we started coming here. I'd visit them every June to see how they were doing." He explained. "Three weeks would be too late."

Lana stared at him. "You never mentioned that before."

"That's because the someone in question isn't too fond of most people. Took me a while to earn his trust, and he the only reason he sees Magnus is because he wanted to meet the person that could cause all the chaos I told him about."

"He's not some creepy old forest hermit is he?" Lana asked, looking a little worried.

"No, he's... well, I'm not sure how old he is." Jay thought about it for a moment. "I'd guess a little older than me, but since he has a family it's tough to say."

Lana's jaw dropped open a bit at that, but before she could say anything another voice forced its way in. "Jay! What in the world do you think you're doing leaving Roufas behind?!"

Jay cringed as Tracy's face moved in beside Lana's. "Oh, sorry Mom, the place is closing, gotta run!"

"Don't you dare-" Her protest ended along with the picture of her angry face as Jay pressed the disconnect button. He was probably going to regret hanging up on her when he got home, but that wasn't for another week. Maybe she'd have cooled off by then... though Jay doubted it.

"Moms..." He muttered in annoyance, walking toward the exit. It was going to be dark soon, and he wanted to find a place to set up the tent before then.

---

Jay hurried down one of the small, lesser-used paths off the main one that led through the forest. It branched off in more directions than he could keep track of, and half of them weren't on any map since they were made by Pokemon. He may not have known them all, but he knew the route to his group's normal campsite so well he could find it blind... and given how quickly the light was fading, he may have to do just that.

Building to a sprint despite the weight of his backpack and the box in his hand, he arrived at the campsite just in time to see the sun disappearing behind the treetops. The small clearing in the trees was, as usual, empty. Jay set his pack on the ground, dropping next to it and opening the box the tent was in. He removed what looked like a smaller, yellow box and rotated it in his hands, trying to remember how to set it up.

"I know there was a latch or something..." Jay mumbled, feeling the corners. One of them clicked and the tent suddenly expanded, smacking him in the face when it popped open and out of his hands. Rubbing his nose where one of the poles in the tent had hit, he got up and rolled it so the flat part was on the bottom. After taking the metal hooks from the box and sticking them into the ground at each corner of the tent to make sure it wouldn't blow away, he took a step back and looked at it.

It looked like half of a cylinder, standing about four feet high and was as blindingly bright yellow as the sun. Why Magnus liked the color so much was beyond him... Jay always commented that it looked like one of those snack cakes he ate. No point in making the reference now, though. Not since he was the only one there.

Grabbing his backpack, he unzipped the tent and crawled in. He untied his sleeping bag from the pack and rolled it out, then practically dumped his the contents of his bag onto the ground, trying to find something edible that didn't require cooking. Building a fire sounded too bothersome at the moment, he was too tired from being woken up too early and all the rushing around.

Sorting through what he had, Jay settled on a bottle of water, bag of chips and candy bar he had gotten from the outpost vending machine. Worrying about nutrition was for those still halfway conscious. He noticed one of the things that had tumbled out of his pack and let out an irritated groan. A pokeball. He forgot his crazy Mother said she had put some in there. Leaning back a little, he raised one foot and stomped on the offensive little ball. Part of the tent fabric was pushed into the soft earth along with it. Jay grumbled something rude, pulling the ball out of the hole it had made and throwing it back into his pack. He may not have liked the things, but he couldn't deny how durable they were.

After finishing his poor excuse for a dinner, he dropped onto his sleeping bag, not even bothering to climb into it before drifting off to sleep.

---

Jay departed the campsite the next morning a little after dawn, after setting up a spot for a campfire and discovering how little he had in the way of food. Daniel was always the one who brought that, not to mention cooked. However, since the "Campfire King" as Magnus called him was off to a tournament, Jay was going to have to make do with what he could get.

Heading into the forest, he stopped by the few berry trees he knew of, gathering up an assortment before making his way to an old picnic table that, judging by the condition, had been long forgotten by whoever set it up. Brushing away some fallen leaves and dirt, Jay dropped the berries into a pile, apart from one pecha he set in the middle of the table. Taking an oran from the pile, he tore it in half, flinging each piece in opposite directions. All he had to do now was wait. Good thing he had brought his book along.

It wasn't long, maybe twenty minutes, before he heard something move in one of the trees behind him. He closed his book, setting it onto the bench next to him as a voice rang out.

"Death to the pecha!" It cried, and something yellow slammed onto the berry in the center of the table, splattering everything around it, Jay included. Both the attacker and mutilated fruit rolled off the table, landing on the opposite bench.

Jay grinned, wiping some of the pecha juice off his face with his sleeve. "As crazy as ever, I see."

"Crazy? Please. I just like playing with my food." The arrival said, his voice muffled since his mouth was full.

"How mature of you."

"Aw, can it." A spiked, fuzzy face poked up from the other side of the table, pink smears from the pecha juice blending with his yellow fur and making an unusual pattern across his face. "Magnus not with you this time?"

"Nope, I'm on my own up here. Which is proving to be a problem since I forgot a lot of things. Like food." He sighed, leaning on the table. "I'll probably have to head home in a couple days because of it, but I might be back up in a month or so. Depends on when the others are free."

The Jolteon smirked at him. "Coming up here all alone? And you call me crazy."

Jay offered a glare in reply. "I swear, Zed, if I hear that from one more person I'm gonna snap. I can take care of myself... or should I prove it to you again like when we first met?"

Zed pulled his ears back. "I'll pass. I get a headache just thinking about it. I'm surprised you didn't break my brain with that punch..."

"Would anyone even be able to tell if I did?"

"Shut up and gimme an oran."

Jay chuckled, picking an oran berry out of the pile and tossing it at Zed, who jumped up and caught it in his front paws, only to topple over backwards onto the ground when he landed. "Graceful as ever, too."

A rustle and voice from the bushes made both of them look. "Damn shrubbery, outta my w-AH!" A teen with short black hair fell out of the bushes, landing on his face. "Ow..."

"You alright?" Jay asked as the unexpected arrival pushed himself up.

"Yeah, just a little pissed off." He sighed, brushing the dirt off his red shirt and blue jeans before removing the sunglasses from his shirt pocket and frowning. There was a crack down the middle of the right lens and the left had completely shattered. "Man, I just got these too."

Zed hopped onto the table, fur bristling. Jay could hear the faint crackle of electricity building, sparks flickering between the tips of the Jolteon's spiked fur.

_Right into combat mode whenever someone comes along... Zed must run into a lot of trainers in the forest or something. _Jay thought.

"You know how much farther it is to Viridian City, and the general direction? I got kinda lost when I decided to look for that odd Pokemon everyone's been talking about." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Leave it to me to get sidetracked when I'm trying to get somewhere."

"Odd pokemon?" Jay inquired.

"You don't know? The rumor in Pewter City was about a pokemon in the forest that was out of its element." He explained.

"What does that mean?"

The teen sighed and straightened his hair again. Jay figured it was a nervous habit. "You know, like something you wouldn't find here. Bugs, birds..." His eyes stopped on Zed for a moment. "...really pissed off looking Jolteons, they're expected in a forest, even if rare. They were on about something that doesn't fit the setting."

"Hm..." Jay pondered it for a minute, before rasing his hand and pointing with his thumb. "Viridian's that way. Two hour walk to the outpost, another one or so to town."

"Thanks." He said, walking off in the direction Jay told him.

It was a couple minutes after the teen departed that Zed's fur began lower, the pent up energy receding. "Who the hell was that?"

"No idea." Jay shrugged. "What's this out of place Pokemon he was talking about, though?"

"I haven't heard anything about that." Zed sat down on the table, staring at one of the chesto berries. "Jenna might have, I'll have to ask her when I get home."

"Ah, yes. The hot-blooded mate of yours. She still fond of me?"

"Fond of setting you on fire, maybe." Zed laughed.

Their conversation continued for a long while, Jay offering up tales of Magnus' absurd antics and Zed telling stories about his wife and daughters. The latter made a point of also saying how annoying it was that he still hadn't gotten a son after three attempts, but that continuing to try was great fun. Jay quickly requested a topic change after that.

---

It was getting dark by the time Jay returned to his campsite. Wondering for a moment where the day had gone, he dropped his backpack onto the ground by the unlit campfire and began rummaging through it. Three bottles of water, a bag of marshmallows and a couple pechas he picked up on the way back was all the food he had. Talk about not thinking things through.

Getting up to see Zed was the important thing, though. Since he'd gotten to do that, maybe he'd just head home tomorrow. Making the trek back to Viridian just to pick up supplies would kill another day, and the camp would be boring on his own. Leaving tomorrow sounded like the best option, he'd be back up here with his friends in about a month anyway.

An annoyed, familiar voice came from the trees to his left. "Ah, dammit. You again? I'm going around in circles. Thank you very freaking much Gil for screwing up my sense of direction."

"What did I do?" A second asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Jay glanced at the teen from earlier, who was staring down at a Psyduck and looking very frustrated. "Don't give me that look. Don't hit your head again either, I'm tired of the flying lessons."

"Flying lessons?" The Psyduck wondered.

The teen sighed. "Nevermind... just... rest up for a while, alright?" He aimed the pokeball in his right hand at the Psyduck, who returned to it in a flash of light. Placing the ball into the holder on his belt, he turned to Jay. "Mind pointing me in the direction of town again?"

Jay gestured to the narrow path. "Follow that and it'll take you to the main road. Take a left from there."

"Thanks again." He said with a wave, coming to a stop at the edge of the path. "Mind if I ask you something else?"

Jay opened one of the bottles of water. "What?"

"Your Jolteon, why'd it look ready to rip my throat out earlier?"

"My... wha?" Jay blinked, then realized the misunderstanding. No reason to tell him the truth, he was a trainer after all. "Zed's paranoid and over-protective, he considers everyone he meets a threat at first. Sure did when I first met him... he only threatened to rip your throat out, with me he actually tried."

"Sounds like an aggressive partner to have." He mumbled, glancing over his shoulder. "You should be careful around Pokemon like that, I know how vicious some can get."

Jay raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't push the subject. "Trust me, I know. I've had some bad experiences. Not with Zed after the first meeting, but with others. Others that had less reason to come after me. He had something to protect... they didn't."

It was the teen's turn to offer a curious expression. Jay expected a question about it, but one didn't come. "I'm Simon."

He blinked, taken off guard by the sudden introduction. "Jay."

"Always nice to meet a fellow trainer with the common sense to be cautious. I meet very few like that."

"I'm not a trainer." Jay said quickly, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Oh?" Simon watched him, surprised by his reaction. "What about... Zed, was it?"

"Zed's a friend, not a... trainee. I don't beat up free Pokemon and stick them in those things." He gestured to the pair of pokeballs on Simon's belt. "I don't make them fight with other Pokemon just for the hell of it or some idiotic notion of being a 'Pokemon Master'. And I sure as hell don't use them as tools like some twisted bastards might!" His voice built to a yell as he went on, and he had gotten to his feet without realizing it. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down and feeling very embarrassed he'd let something that was meant to be a compliment get to him like that.

Simon's reaction wasn't what he'd expected. He laughed. "Passionate about your beliefs, aren't you? I can understand that. Going by that definition, I'm not a trainer either. I didn't catch these two, I adopted them from a shelter for abandoned Pokemon. I haven't even considered capturing others... Sil and Gil are the best companions I could get."

Jay stared at him and slowly sat back down, thinking. A person that thought like that wasn't something he came across very often. The only other person he knew that even came close was Magnus. Figures he went and bit the guy's head off. "Sorry... I didn't mean to snap like that, it's just..."

"Don't worry about it. I'd actually love to stay and chat, but I have a schedule to keep." He started to leave again, but Jay stopped him after noticing something odd about his story.

"Hold on a sec. Before, you said you were looking for a Pokemon, but now you're telling me you don't capture Pokemon. That makes no sense."

"That? I just happened to comment that if there was a Pokemon out of place in this forest it was probably lost or abandoned. It was a mistake to say that to Sil, who conned me into coming to look for and help it. I don't know how the hell she always does it. Psychic manipulation, maybe... or just that expression telling me it's the right thing to do." Simon sighed, running his fingers through his hair and glancing at the path. "A voice of conscience that doesn't use words... that sums up Sil pretty well."

Jay grinned. "I wish I knew someone like that. The only advice I get either comes from people freaking out over nothing, or from Roufas who points out what I'm doing wrong with little regard for manners."

"Damn it." Simon muttered. "Figures I finally bump into someone worth talking to. I really do have to be somewhere though, and there's already a chance I'll be late."

"Better get going then, I'm stubborn about punctuality too. If you're ever passing through Pallet, look me up. It's small and I'm the only Jay in town."

"I'll be sure to do that." He said, before taking off down the path at a sprint. "Farewell!"

"Bye!" Jay shouted after him. Taking a drink, he turned to face the campfire again. Maybe, just maybe, there were a few people that could be designated trainers but he could still get along with other than Daniel and Sam.

---

Jay zipped the tent three-quarters of the way closed, remembering how stuffy it could get when fully sealed. It would have been pitch-black if not for his flashlight, which was flickering and dim. "Figures I forgot batteries too." He complained, switching it off and climbing into his sleeping bag in the darkness.

He wasn't sure how long he slept, but a voice coming from somewhere nearby woke him up. It was still impossible to see, but Jay thought he could see a light in the forest through the tent's material.

"Damn it all! How could I lose it?! It was right freaking there!" The voice snapped. It sounded like a boy, and human, but it certainly wasn't Simon. "Just my luck. I find the stupid Pokemon and lose it."

_Find... do they mean the one Simon mentioned?_ Jay wondered, sitting up. That's when he heard something moving... something in his tent. He froze. The sound had come from the corner of the tent, but he wasn't sure if it would attack if he moved or if it was simply hiding. Talking to it might help, but the person outside was still near enough to hear.

Slowly moving his hand along the edge of the tent next to him, he found his flashlight and flicked it on. It may have been dim, but it was enough to illuminate the interior of the tent. He didn't see anything at first, then noticed his backpack and spare clothes in the corner were piled about three times as high as they had been. It was hiding, then. That was a relief.

Jay heard footsteps outside getting closer, so he turned and stuck the flashlight along with his head out of the tent, making the person approaching stop. "What's all the damned noise about?" He asked, putting his best angry face on.

The stranger looked a few years younger than him. A trainer too, judging by the pokeballs on his belt. "You seen a Pokemon run by? I've been chasin' it for an hour!"

Jay glared at the kid. "I was sleeping, so no. I don't know how anyone would seen anything given how dark it is around here, anyway."

"Crap! Thanks for nothing... I gotta find that thing!" He said, running off into the shadows.

Jay pulled his head back into the tent and zipped it shut, thinking about how stupid it was to be exploring a forest at night. Not to mention why he disliked most trainers in the first place, most he had met had a similar temperament as that kid. The sound of footsteps and shaking leaves faded into the distance, and Jay aimed his flashlight at the pile. "He's gone, you can come out now... and don't worry, I'm not like him."

The pile shifted a bit, and the flashlight went out. Jay swore, smacking the thing in a vain attempt to get it to work. A light suddenly filled the tent, and he looked up in surprise. The head and burning tail of a Charmander was poking out of his spare clothes. He instinctively scooted a couple inches back, dropping the flashlight.

_Oh hell..._ He thought, a chill of fear crossing his body. _...why did it have to be one of them?_


	3. Fighting Fear

The human and Charmander stared at each other for a few moments, each looking very paranoid about the situation. Jay took a few slow, deep breaths, reminding himself that this one was not like the last few members of the char family he had come across. At least, he hoped it wasn't. The fact it hasn't tried to rip him to shreds was a good start, but it was fairly small and alone. Maybe it was just biding time until...

Jay shook the thoughts out of his head. Now was no time to let fear run rampant. Besides, what had happened before was years ago, before he could fight back. Now he could... but the lessons he had taken never covered tight, flammable spaces against something that could breathe fire. He swallowed, slowly raising one hand.

"Uh... hi." The Charmander lowered itself further into the pile of clothes. "D-don't panic, now... t-there's... nothing to be afraid of here." He stuttered, wondering if he was trying to convince the Charmander or himself more. "What's your name? I'm Jay."

"What's the point...?" The Charmander's muffled voice said. "It's not like you'd understand me."

"Actually, I can." Jay said, the Charmander poking its head out of the clothes a little. "I try not to spread it around, but I can talk to you as easily as I can another human."

After watching him for a few seconds, it spoke again. "Simoon."

Jay blinked. "Your name's Simon too? That's strange."

"No, Simoon." The Charmander repeated, lifting itself up more. "Like that thing in the sky."

"Right." Jay nodded. Now that its voice wasn't muffled he could tell it was a female. "That'll be a little confusing though, since I just met a guy called Simon. Okay if I call just you Moon? Maybe Moony?"

Simoon narrowed her eyes at him. "No. Only my friends can call me either of those."

"Fair enough." Jay chuckled nervously, sliding back another inch. "Look, you can leave if you want, I'm not trying to keep you here."

"Sorry..." She mumbled. "I'm just a little..."

"Scared?" Jay offered. He sure fit that description at the moment.

"Yeah. I've run into a lot of people and pokemon like that one since I got here... attacking me out of the blue. It doesn't make any sense." She sunk back into the clothes, trembling. "The few others that would talk to me... they didn't have a way to help me. I just want to go home."

"Where's that?" Jay asked, feeling some concern despite his fear.

"I don't know. You humans might have names for places, but most of us don't." She explained. "If we do, it's usually not the same anyway."

"Right..." Jay mulled it over. There wasn't much he could do, but he did think of one small thing. "...look, Simoon. You can rest in here tonight if you want to. You'll be able to get some sleep without worrying about being attacked or anything."

"You'd let me do that?" She wondered.

"Sure. Usually Mag's in here taking up half the floor and you're a lot smaller than him." Jay said, moving slowly away from the side of the tent. "Just try not to set anything on fire, okay?"

"If it's my tail you're worried about, it only burns what I want it to." Simoon explained, lowering the burning tip onto one of his shirts without the whole pile going up in smoke. "See?"

"That's a relief." Jay chuckled, though he was more worried about a sudden breath of fire torching him than losing a few clothes. Of course, Magnus wouldn't be happy if he lost his favorite tent, but that could be replaced. Sliding further into his sleeping bag, he laid back on the ground and tried to relax. "Good night."

"Night." Simoon mumbled, the light fading as she pulled her tail back into the pile of clothes.

Neither of them were able to get to sleep easily. Jay kept thinking about his previous experience with a group of chars and Simoon hadn't had any friendly meetings with humans before now. They both kept listening for any sign of movement from the other, until drifting off to sleep.

---

Light coming through the tent fabric woke Jay up. He yawned, rising and glancing at the corner where the Charmander had been. It wasn't there. Checking the other corners of the small tent, he confirmed that Simoon was gone. Which probably brought him more relief than he would have liked. Sure, the pokemon had scared him, but he still felt bad for it.

"Oh well." Jay sighed, rolling up his sleeping bag. "Nothing else I can do now. I need to get packed and back to Pallet."

After stuffing his book, clothes, the irritating little balls and various other things into his backpack, he struggled to get the tent back into a square and into the box again. Once it was put away he glanced at the campfire when he'd never gotten around to lighting and decided to just leave it for anyone else that passed through.

Keeping a quick pace, he was able to get back to the outpost in only an hour and a half. Jay stopped inside to get a bottle of pecha soda from the vending machine before going to the row of garages behind the main building. They were mainly rented by people heading into the forest that needed a safe place to put their vehicle during camping trips, and they got plenty of use. Jay unlocked number ten and pulled Magnus' motorcycle out, walking it around front before going inside to return the storage key.

Dropping onto the seat, he reached into his backpack which was resting in the sidecar and took out his last bottle of water. He didn't even get a chance to open it before he heard someone yell.

"Leave me alone!"

Jay glanced in the direction it came from and noticed a vaguely familiar orange shape bolt out of the nearby trees. "Simoon?" He called out. The Charmander looked at him before adjusting her sprint in the same direction. A kid and Beedrill emerged from the forest from where Simoon had, chasing after her.

"Shit. Always a trainer." Jay grumbled, dropping his water before yanking his backpack out of the sidecar and onto his shoulders. "Get in!" He shouted, starting the engine.

Simoon charged toward the machine, ignoring the loud noises coming from it and leaping at the egg-shaped part. She barely made it over the edge, having to dig her claws into the side and force herself half of the way. Once she was in, a sudden jerk knocked her over.

Jay didn't look back as he accelerated away, but he could tell the trainer was pissed. The shouting coming from the kid could be heard over the sound of the motorcycle easily even from that distance, but he couldn't tell what exactly was being said. He glanced at Simoon, who was clinging to the seat and trembling.

"No worries, Simoon." He yelled over the engine noise. "No way he can catch us on foot."

She glanced up at him and her eyes widened. Before he could ask what was wrong, the Charmander had opened her mouth and he could see the building glow coming from her throat. He swore, leaning forward as a cascade of fire poured from the pokemon's mouth. Jay felt the heat on the back of his neck as the flames rushed past and he flinched, thinking he had made a mistake and it wasn't actually Simoon.

"What was that for?!" He yelled once the attack had ended. The Charmander was looking behind them and Jay glanced over his shoulder. The Beedrill that had been with the kid was rolling along the ground and smoking not far behind them. "Oh..." He turned his attention back to the road. "...I owe you one!"

By the time Jay had stopped, they were on the outskirts of Viridian City. The kid and his Beedrill were far behind, so the pair of them breathed a sigh of relief as Jay killed the engine. "That was close." He commented.

"Yeah. I thought he was going to capture me." Simoon said, watching over the back of the sidecar for any sign of the trainer. "Thanks for helping me again."

"Thanks for toasting that Beedrill. A stinger in the head would've made it hard to drive." Jay chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck where the flames had nicked him.

"I wasn't about to let the first decent human I've met be stabbed in the back by an insect with an attitude problem." She said, looking irritated.

"You sure it wasn't just his trainer's orders?"

"No." She turned, sitting properly and leaning back. Though her tail offered a few difficulties since the seat wasn't designed with pokemon in mind. "You wouldn't believe the things it was shouting as it chased me."

Jay grinned. "You're a lot calmer than you were last night."

"So are you." Simoon replied, closing her eyes.

"I haven't had enough time to think about being nervous." He said, reaching into the sidecar and taking his bottle of water from where it had landed by the tent's box. After taking a drink, as well as pouring a bit into his hand to rub on his slightly crispy neck, he offered the bottle to Simoon, only to find her laying on one side and nearly unconscious.

"Oh, crap." He said, setting the bottle down and nervously placing a hand on her side. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No..." She mumbled. "...just so...tired..."

"Oh, geez... don't scare me like that." Jay said, shaking his head and taking the helmet from its place on top of the tent box. He strapped it on and sighed, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do with the exhausted pokemon that had now passed out in the sidecar. There'd be plenty of time to ponder on the trip back, at least. He started up the motorcycle again and headed down the road back to Pallet.

---

Simoon rolled over in her sleep, pulling the warm, fuzzy thing in her arms closer and letting out a content sigh. For a moment she felt like she was home, then remembered her family didn't have fur. Nor did they struggle and gasp for air like whatever she was holding was currently doing. She opened her eyes, releasing it and scrambling backwards in a sudden panic.

The Ratatta she had been hugging around the neck coughed, taking shaky breaths. "What a grip." It wheezed.

"Told you not to get too close. I was expecting her to roast you though, not strangle you." A calm voice commented.

Simoon looked at where the voice had come from, seeing the face of a Persian at eye-level with her. "What... who are you?" She asked, still moving backwards.

"Stop!" The Ratatta squeaked a moment too late.

The soft ground vanished from underneath Simoon and she fell a couple feet onto the floor. "Oh, my head..." She groaned, sitting up and noticing her surroundings. She was in some kind of purple, wooden cave. Pictures of various landscapes on the walls and things she couldn't identify stacked in some type of hollowed out pillar.

"You okay?" The Persian asked, stepping around what she had fallen off of and sitting down.

"Y-yes..." She stuttered, backing away. He may not have appeared aggressive, but he was twice her height and at least four times as heavy, a problem if he did decide to attack. "Where am I?"

"Jay's house." The Ratatta above her said, before leaping down. "I'm Hickory. That's Roufas. Don't worry, he just looks scary."

"Jay?" She wondered. "You mean the human on the loud machine?"

Hickory tilted his head. "What machine?"

"She probably means Mag's bike. Jay drove that up to Viridian." Roufas said, before turning his attention to Simoon. "Are you feeling okay now? I can get you food if you're hungry, but I can't get to where the medicine is kept... or use it even if I could."

"The human's not here?" Simoon asked.

"He's here, but getting chewed out by Tracy and Lana at the moment. That's why he sent me back here to keep an eye on you." Roufas explained.

"Keep an eye on me?" She wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

"Well, it could be a problem if Tracy or Lana sees you right now. To most people you're still just a wild pokemon. Not many humans are fond of them in town."

"Yep, so we came to keep you company!" Hickory said, darting up the Persian's back and sitting on his head.

Roufas sighed. "Actually, that's what I was supposed to do. You just showed up. I only hope Lana doesn't wander back here looking for you."

"She always yells first, I'll go then." Hickory grinned at Simoon. "So, what can we get ya?"

The Chamander stared at both of them, feeling very confused, worried and hungry. The latter made obvious by her gurgling stomach.

"Food, apparently. Right, then wait here." Roufas twitched his head and the Ratatta was tossed off, landing on the tall thing Simoon had woken up on. "I'll be back in a couple minutes with something to eat."

Simoon watched him walk out of the purple cavern, stumbling backwards in surprise when Hickory landed on the ground in front of her. "Wow, and Lana thinks _I'm_ paranoid." He commented upon her reaction. "You don't have anything to worry about here, Jay's not a trainer. I'm with Lana and even though Roufas spends all his time here, he's registered to Tracy."

"You're forgetting someone, crunchy." A voice said.

Hickory yelped, rushing into the nearest small gap.

Simoon blinked at him, then looked up at the Pidgey sitting in a hole that was letting light into the cave. It glared at her from its perch. "So, you're the new victim, huh? Poor thing."

"V-Victim?" Simoon stuttered, bumping into something as she backed away. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, girlie. You really think to can trust a human?" The Pidgey laughed. "He's as bad as they come. Makes you let your guard down, then gets you. Trust me. Get out while you can still walk." It turned and flew away before Simoon could ask what it was talking about.

Hickory poked his head out of his hiding spot. "I-Is she gone?"

"Who?" Roufas inquired, walking in and wondering why the pair of them looked so frightened.

"Gail." Hickory whimpered.

"Oh, no..." He sighed, glancing at Simoon. "...what did she say to cause that look?"

"She was making it sound like Jay was a lunatic or something." The Ratatta rushed over, skidding to a halt between Roufas' front legs and watching where the Pidgey had been.

"Why does she always do stuff like that?" Roufas shook his head. "I'll have to talk to her later."

"How about you eat her instead?" Hickory suggested.

"Forget it. Just don't take anything she might have said seriously, Simoon. Gail's always making up scary stories just to cause chaos."

Simoon stepped away from them, skeptical about everyone at this point.

"Hickory!" A girl's voice yelled from somewhere.

The Ratatta's ears twitched. "That's my cue. Maybe I'll see you again sometime, Simoon." He said before darting out of the room.

"Give it three minutes." Roufas said, eyes on the path out. "Jay'll set you up with something then."

---

Jay leaned against his front door, his head sore from listening to both Lana and his Mother giving him crap about going to the forest alone. Making a mental note to change his locks so the older one couldn't walk in any time the mood hit, he headed into the kitchen.

"Roufas, clear." He called out, digging through the fridge. There wasn't much to pick from, especially since Simoon probably had never even seen what he usually made for Roufas. That being whatever he also made for himself. It's no wonder the Persian was a bit overweight, he didn't have a proper diet.

"What's on the menu?" Roufas inquired, poking his head into the fridge.

"Well, we've got a few berries. I'm not sure if she'd be comfortable eating anything you couldn't find growing anywhere." Jay said, removing a box of cheri berries and a solitary oran berry from one of the shelves.

"Strange... I thought I smelled a pecha earlier." Roufas muttered.

"Oh, right. There's one in my backpack still." Jay closed the fridge and went to grab his pack off the couch, catching sight of Simoon as she peered around the hallway corner. She looked even more nervous than she did in the tent. "Finally up and about I see." He said, taking the pecha from his bag. "Come on out. I don't have much to offer at the moment, but if you're hungry it's better than nothing."

She slowly wandered into the living room, examining every wall of the house. It must have been her first time in one. "What is this cave? It's brighter than normal... and dryer..." She shifted from one foot to the other, looking down at the tan carpet. "...and softer."

Jay shook his head. Forget first time in a house, apparently this was her first time in a structure of any sort. "It's not a cave, it's a building. Humans make them to live in." He explained. "Well, houses at least. There are different types of buildings for different things."

"Very strange..." Simoon mumbled, looking up at him. He couldn't help noticing the suspicion in her eyes. "...so why did you bring me here?"

"You fainted, what was I supposed to do?" He shrugged. "Scary or not, I couldn't just drop you on the side of the road. I couldn't really take you to a pokemon center, either... I'm not sure what they have arranged for unregistered pokemon."

She blinked. "Scary...?"

"Oh yeah, he's jumpy about anyone from the char family." Roufas said, appearing from the kitchen and grinning at Simoon. "You should have seen how pale his face was when he carried you in. I thought it was hilarious when you grappled onto his arm in your sleep and he started to panic, stuttering on about how you might take a bite out of him or something."

Simoon stared at Roufas for a moment, then at Jay, and finally over her shoulder down the hall. She sighed, dropping onto the floor and pressing her head against her hands. "I just don't know what to think anymore."

"Gail's never any help." Roufas commented.

Jay groaned at the name. "She's causing trouble again? It's like she's never happy unless she's tormenting me or someone I know. Does she have a grudge against me or what?"

"That's hard to say. I've asked her before, but she always changed the subject or ignored me."

"Any answer you did get probably wouldn't be true." Jay crossed his arms. "I swear, that Pidgey's a pathological liar. I don't know how you can stand her."

"If you give her a chance, she's okay." Roufas insisted.

"Right." Jay muttered, not convinced in the least. "Messing with the heads of pokemon that are already nervous is just a harmless hobby of hers?"

"I'll talk to her later, don't worry about it." Roufas said, going over to the couch and climbing onto it. He slumped onto his side and took up two of the three cushions, unlike when he was asleep and somehow stretched from one end to the other.

"At the moment, it's not me I'm worried about." He grumbled, walking into the kitchen and collecting the berries he had taken from the fridge. Going back into the living room he took a few cautious steps up to Simoon, who still looked as if she was suffering a bad headache, and set the fruit in front of her. "Try to eat something. I know it's a slim selection, but I'll go buy some more later. There are other things to think about right now."

"Such as what we're going to do with our houseguest?" Roufas asked.

Jay nodded. "Exactly. I have an idea, though."

Simoon quickly raised her head as Jay went past, watching him take a flat, black box from the desk in the corner. He walked over to the shorter table in front of the couch and sat down, flipping it open and pushing something inside it. "What's that?"

"A laptop." Jay said, waiting for it to start up. "Honestly, I don't know where I'd begin explaining what this thing's able to do. Let's just say it can offer a lot of information."

"Like pornography." Roufas offered.

Jay glared over his shoulder at the Persian. "I do not use this thing for porn."

He smirked. "Magnus does when he uses it."

"That explains the overload on my spam filter." Jay said, turning back to the computer. "I'll have to be sure and break his other leg when I see him."

Simoon munched on the oran berry, having no idea what they were talking about. "Is porn helpful?" She wondered.

"Only in certain situations." Roufas answered.

"This not being one of them." Jay sighed. "Can we please change the subject? Zed was bad enough with his innuendo the other day."

"Prude."

"Blob."

"Um... what does this have to do with me?" Simoon interrupted.

"Right." Jay began going through the options on the computer until he had brought up a map of the world. It was designed to help people find vacation spots and such, but it may work in this situation as well. "You said you wanted to go home, right? Tell me about it, specifics. Who lived there, how big it was, any humans that might have been around..."

She stopped eating, giving him a curious look before speaking. "I lived in a deep cavern with my family and friends. It was pretty big, but I never went too far since we never really got along with the rocks. The caves were spilt up, most of the fire chambers in our parts since they didn't care for them."

"Fire chambers?" Jay asked.

"Caves with spots of glowing, liquid fire in them." She explained.

Jay nodded, typing a few things in. _Volcano. High Char Pop. High Rock-type Pop._ "What about outside? What could you see on the horizon?"

"Water. It was everywhere. There was a small area of humans too, but they never really bothered us."

_Island. Population under 200._ Jay clicked the search button and frowned. There were still over a dozen marks on the map that fit the criteria. There had to be something else to narrow down the search. "How did you get off the island?"

"One of those big machines... I think I heard one of the humans call it a ship."

"What in the world were you doing on a ship?" Roufas asked.

"It's... complicated. I don't really want to talk about it right now..." Simoon mumbled, turning her gaze to the carpet and popping a cheri into her mouth.

"Damn, so much for that." Jay saved the data before closing his laptop. He'd try going over details for each location later. Maybe he'd get lucky and find a photo of an area Simoon could recognize. "Better deal with the present for now, and worry about the future tomorrow. It's almost three, so I'm going to pay Mag a visit, return his bike and get the shopping done. Simoon, make yourself at home for now. Roufas, be a good host."

"You can count on me." The Persian called out as Jay departed.

Jay locked the door behind him before going over to the bike, sitting down and dropping his head against the handlebars. A wild pokemon, a Charmander no less, was in his house under Roufas' supervision. Forget the odds of finding Simoon's home, he would be lucky if he came back and didn't find the place reduced to a pile of ash.


	4. Miscommunication and Paranoia

Jay stopped outside the door, grinning at the voice coming from the other side. Magnus was, once again, talking to himself. It was a bad habit for him, since he usually didn't realize when he was doing it. Especially bad since he usually mentioned things he didn't want other people to know. Thinking he could use a nice distraction from the little problem at home, Jay put his ear to the door and listened.

"...believe there's nothing on. Midday TV sucks." Magnus sighed, the sound of the television in the background disappearing. "No visitors since Lana came two days ago, and all she did was go on about Jay going off on his own. Even Daniel and Sam have gone off to some tournament. Damn it. Next time I end up in here, I gotta make it's when everyone else is around."

Jay shook his head, reaching for the handle when Magnus started up again, and said something that made him stop.

"Man, my parents haven't even visited since the first day. When I get outta here, I gotta figure out a way to get outta there, too." The sound of something hitting the bed, probably Magnus' fist, came from the room. "Those three are lucky. Daniel and Sam split the rent on their place and Jay's freakin' loaded enough not to even worry about it."

Jay flinched. As much as he tried to ignore the fact, his friend was right in a way. His Mother had earned more than he thought possible when she was a Pokemon trainer, and his Dad worked in some big company in Sinnoh. At least, he did before the divorce three years ago. Where he was now was a mystery. Not that Jay cared, he never really liked his Father and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

"That's what I've gotta do." Magnus said. "Start planning on how to get out of that house. Hell, maybe even out of Pallet if I can manage it. If it wasn't for those two and that damn Professor Oak I'd try my hand at the whole trainer thing. If a ten year old can manage it, I sure as hell can."

It took him a moment, but Jay remembered what he was talking about. Magnus had told him a few times that he'd always thought being a trainer would be neat, but his parents were so against it they had somehow talked Oak into not offering him a starter. Jay wondered why his friend hadn't brought up the topic for a while, then remembered it usually ended with him giving Magnus his standard trainer-bashing talk.

Jay sighed, wishing he'd just gone in before hearing it all. Why couldn't Magnus have reminisced about the time he stupidly went Tauros-tipping? Or when he somehow blew up all the toilets in middle-school? Or at least something that offered a laugh instead of bad memories?

Glancing at the bottle in his hand, Jay raised it and tapped it against the door. Magnus, who had been continuing his external monologue, suddenly went quiet. Jay pushed open the door, walking up to the bedside and offering him the bottle. "You know, keeping a journal might be a quieter way to go over your thoughts."

Magnus stared at him a moment before taking the bottle. "Anyone can find and read a journal, at least my way only nosy people can overhear it. Speaking of which, how much did you hear?"

"Just something about trying to be a trainer." Jay lied, closing the door and taking a seat by the bed. "You're still on about that, huh?"

"Yeah. Childhood dreams don't die easy, you know?"

"Not really." Jay shrugged, leaning back and looking at the ceiling. "I never found anything that sparked my interest."

"Don't give me that, you must have had some kinda dream when you were younger." Magnus said, awkwardly popping the cap off the bottle with one hand and taking a drink.

Thinking back, a few came to Jay's mind, but he'd soon lost interest in each one. "None were realistic for me, so I gave up on them."

"That's... kinda sad, man. You gotta have something to dream of, even if it's unrealistic. Like me wanting to be a..." He stopped himself, glancing sideways at Jay. "...ah, nevermind. What're you doing back so soon, anyway? Zed acting a little too crazy for you?"

Feeling both relieved and irritated by the sudden change of subject, Jay figured he may as well go along with it. Since Lana was unhappy with him, he didn't want to risk Magnus getting mad too. "No more than usual. The main reason I'm back is because I forgot a lot of stuff, like food. I'm too used to going with everyone else."

"Oh, yeah. With the Campfire King gone I bet your food selection was limited." Magnus grinned.

"That's an understatement, all I had on hand was candy and berries." Jay sighed, shifting in the chair and placing his arm on the back. "Actually, the lack of nutrition and Zed's madness isn't what I came to talk to you about. I met a couple new faces during my day and a half up there."

"Seriously? We never run into anyone on our camping trips." He took a swig of soda and smirked at Jay. "You meet a hot girl in the woods?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "I suppose she fits that description in a sense... but it's become a bit of a problem. See, she was in a bit of trouble when I met her, so I gave her a place to hide. Then when I woke up and she wasn't in the tent, I-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Magnus interrupted, sitting upright and gaping at him. "You had a girl... in my tent... overnight? You lucky bastard!"

Jay glared at him. "There is so much wrong with what you're trying to suggest, I don't know where to start. Look, I only came here to see if you'd help me with her once you're better."

"Help you?" Magnus blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I doubt she'll want to stay at my place forever."

Magnus' jaw fell open and Jay planted his face in his palm. "She's at your house right now? You're letting her stay there? But you've only got one bedroom! Damn, Jay, I mean-"

"Magnus! Please. Stop. Now." He said, groaning. "I suppose I should have pointed this out earlier, but she is not, I repeat, _not_ human."

"Oh..." Magnus muttered, sipping at his soda. A moment later he chuckled. "...I had no idea you were into that sort of thing."

Jay reached over and smacked his friend in the back of the head. "Can you please drag your mind out of the gutter for a few minutes?"

"Alright, alright." He said with a laugh. "What's got you all serious? You've helped out wild Pokemon before."

"This one's different. The ones you're talking about just needed rest or recovery. Simoon needs help getting home." Jay explained.

"You need my help with that? Ohh... do I sense a road trip in the works?"

"I doubt there's a road to it, she's from an island. I thought you might be able to help me figure out which one since the internet travel guide was no help. You know about that sort of thing, after all."

Magnus looked away. "I don't know what you mean..."

"My ass you don't." Jay said, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're always mentioning where certain Pokemon can be found, their traits or other bits of trivia most people have to look up... Sam says you're like a human pokedex. I'm willing to bet it's because you're as hell-bent about becoming a trainer today as you were when I met you."

"You know what? You're right." Magnus clunked the bottle onto the table. "Those three might have stopped me from becoming one, but I never stopped reading up on everything I could. Once I get the hell outta that house, I'm becoming a trainer and I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about it."

"Right..." Jay muttered, not wanting to get into the discussion again. "...so you'll help me out then?"

"You bet I will, but I'm gonna need more to go on."

"Well..." Jay glanced at the clock on the wall and swore. "...that'll have to wait until tomorrow. The shop's going to close soon and I have to pick up stuff for Simoon."

"You should pick up some proper Pokemon food, then. Roufas grew up on human food, but there's no telling how one from the wild will take to it." Magnus suggested.

"Can't argue with that, but how am I going to buy it?"

Magnus glared at him. "You're not exactly strapped for cash, so how do you think?"

"That's not what I meant." Jay sighed, having come across another topic he wanted to avoid. "I've looked at Pokemon food before, the species-specific ones would be a dead giveaway and the type-specific ones aren't any better. That's the problem with a small town like Pallet, everybody knows each other. Everyone knows the only Pokemon I live with is a Persian, so if I bought food for a fire-type..."

"Try lying. Say you're picking it up for your Mom. She has a Ninetales, right?"

"I suppose it's worth a shot. I'm not much of a liar, though." Jay muttered, standing up and heading for the door.

"No kidding." Magnus laughed. "By the way, thanks for the Pecha Soda."

"Being stuck in here, I figured you could use it. See you tomorrow, Mag."

"You know where to find me."

---

"That concludes our tour of Chateau Jay. If there are any questions, please direct them to him when he gets home." Roufas said, walking out of Jay's bedroom where he had finished showing Simoon around the house.

"W-wait a second..." Simoon stuttered, hurrying after him. "...what about-"

"Sorry, but I gave you the rundown of the basics, that should be enough for now." Roufas interrupted, making his way through the house until he was in the kitchen. "If you get bored, try that thing I showed you. I'd normally stay and chat with someone new, but I really have something that needs to be dealt with."

Simoon blinked as Roufas placed his head against part of the wall and pushed it up and outwards. He'd showed it to her first, but she was still surprised by it. There certainly wasn't anything like it where she was from. "What do you have to deal with?"

Roufas grinned back at her, his fangs glinting in the sunlight. "Gail." He said, before letting the door swing shut.

Simoon gulped, not liking the the look on his face or his tone of voice when he said it. Maybe the Pidgey was right in telling her to find a way out quickly. She couldn't flee the same way the Persian had gone, though. The area was fenced in and burning through it would attract too much attention.

Trying to think of another way out, she remembered the window in Jay's room had been open earlier. Climbing out there might work. Sprinting through the living room and down the hall, Simoon almost fell flat on her face after seeing the window and coming to a sudden stop. The window was open, but a familiar face was looking in.

"You're still here?" Gail asked from her perch, glaring at the Charmander. "I thought I told you to run for it."

"Yes... I think I can get out through there." Simoon said. There was nothing under the window and it was too high to reach on her own. Looking around for something she could use to climb up with, she remembered what Roufas had said. "I think you should leave, too... that Persian's out to get you."

"Roufas? Please." Gail said with a laugh. "I could see him coming a mile away."

The Persian's voice drifted from outside. "Oh, really?"

Simoon turned just in time to see a tan blur pull Gail out of the window.

"What the hell, Roufas?! Let me go!" Gail squawked.

"Actually, I don't think I will." Roufas replied. "You've been causing too many problems lately. You know what I have to do, right?"

"No... don't you dare..."

"Sorry, but it must be done. Hold still and it'll be over quickly."

"Oh no..." Simoon mumbled as Gail let out a screech. She tore out of the bedroom and back to the door Roufas had used. It flew open when she collided with it, rolling across the grass and coming to a stop a couple feet away from the house.

Not far away from her was Roufas, his front legs wrapped around Gail. The Pidgey was flailing her legs and shouting curses at the Persian as he licked the top of her head, ruffling her feathers enough to make them stick upright. "Damn you, Roufas! I'm sorry, alright?! Now stop doing that!"

"But you look so cute doing your Pidgeot impression." He said, grinning. "Besides, I'm not the one you owe an apology to."

"Alright, alright! I'll tell the stupid Charmander I made it up and say I'm sorry!"

"There we go." He released Gail and she quickly put a couple feet between them before landing on the ground. "A little honesty is all I'm asking for."

"Can I forget the apology then? I'm not sorry in the least." She said, shaking her head and trying to straighten her feathers.

Roufas got up, walked over and used one large paw to push her feathers back down. "Okay, now I have to know. Your issues with Jay are one thing, but Simoon never did anything to you. Why are you taking your frustrations on her too?"

"Why not ask her yourself?" Gail replied, glaring at Simoon. "You heard that I made up what I said before, right? We're done then." She said, flying off before Roufas could stop her.

"That girl frustrates me to no end." He said with a sigh, watching her depart. "Anyway, Simoon. I doubt it helped much, but hopefully you're a little less nervous. Jay's not bad for a human once you get to know him. Magnus either, despite what he might want other humans to think."

Simoon just watched him in silence, trying to piece everything together in her head. Roufas had forced the words out of the Pidgey, but his efforts were more playful than malicious. Surprising considering he had seemed so serious since she arrived. In any case, Gail did appear to be honest at the time. Of course, she also did when offering that windowsill warning. Simoon thumped her tail on the ground out of irritation, thinking that maybe she just couldn't tell since she had so little contact with other species before now.

"Are you here, or should I leave a message?" Roufas asked.

Simoon glanced up and toppled backwards after seeing the Persian's face within inches of hers. She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts she hadn't noticed him move.

He grinned. "Sorry, I have that effect on small creatures. Come back inside, I'll show you that thing again."

She blinked, wondering what he was talking about for a moment. "Oh, the glowing thing?"

"Yep." He passed by, going to the swinging door and pushing it up. "Your hands are a better size for pressing the buttons, so I'll let you handle that."

"Oh... um... okay." She mumbled, following after him and continuing to wonder if staying here was really the best thing to do.

---

Jay pulled into his driveway, grinning. After going back to ask Magnus if it was okay to continue using his motorcycle while he was in the hospital, getting around town had become a lot faster. Sure, Pallet was small, but his house was still a ten minute walk from the nearest shop, on the bike he made it in two. Not to mention he finally had a reason to use his garage. Up until now it was just empty space apart from dust and cobwebs.

Of course, all that was just an afterthought to the real reason he wanted to hang on to the motorcycle. When he was leaving the hospital, he noticed a few problems with it. Six of them, to be exact. Half a dozen vertical slashes on the sidecar. It wasn't hard to guess that Simoon had accidentally done it when climbing in and if Magnus saw it he'd be annoyed, to say the least. Which means Jay had to have it repaired before his friend got better. One problem after another.

Once he figured out how to open his garage again and got the bike inside, he grabbed the bags out of the sidecar and headed for the front door. Unlocking the door, he was met with a loud roar and a shriek as he stepped inside.

He caught sight of Simoon just as she fell off the coffee table and landed on her back, the television remote landing next to her. Roufas was on the couch she'd barely missed hitting her head against, clearly doing his best not to burst out laughing at the Charmander. Simoon rolled onto her side, grabbing the remote and hitting the power button. The screams from what must have been a monster movie cut off.

"Are you trying to give her a heart attack?" Jay inquired, closing the door behind him.

"Of course not, I'm just trying to show her the benefits of living with a human." He replied. "She probably won't be here long, but I'm hoping she can find something enjoyable about it. A story for when she's back home."

"Are you sure you can even find my home?" Simoon asked, sitting up.

Jay shrugged. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I've enlisted some help, though."

Roufas smirked. "As I expected, you told Magnus."

"Who else would I trust with something like this?" Jay wondered, heading into the kitchen.

"I can think of three people." Roufas said, jumping off the couch and following after him.

"Funny." Jay muttered, beginning to put things away. "Not a chance."

"Why not?"

"Because of Daniel, Sam and Lana, the only one that probably wouldn't think I needed to see a shrink was Sam. However, that idiot can't keep a secret, and the whole town would find out within twenty-four hours."

"Fair enough." Roufas hopped onto one of the chairs around the kitchen table, looking at one of the boxes. "Fire-type Pokemon food? How'd you manage to get that without getting a funny look from the cashier?"

"I followed Mag's advice and lied."

"How'd that work out?"

"Better than usual, thankfully."

There was a clatter as Simoon climbed onto one of the other three chairs around the table, peering over the edge at the shopping. "What kind of odd things are you going to try and make me eat now?"

"They're hardly odd." Roufas said, glancing at her. "Although, considering your situation, I understand why you'd think that."

"This whole place isn't normal." She mumbled.

"Well, I can't argue with that." Jay said, pulling a bowl from one of the cupboards and setting it on the table. Opening the box, he poured a few pieces in and slid it over to Simoon. "Here, give it a taste and tell me if I need to find a way to get something better tomorrow."

Simoon looked from him to the bowl, cautiously picking up one of the pieces and examining the food. It was doubtful she'd seen them before, but did she have to handle it like it was poisoned or something? Jay rolled his eyes and turned to finish putting things away.

"Any good?" Roufas asked a short time later.

"I've never tasted anything like this before." She said, eating another. "It's a lot better than it looks."

Jay closed the fridge and checked the clock on the wall. It was a little past seven. "Glad to hear that, since you're probably gonna be stuck eating a lot of it for a couple weeks. I got some for you too, Roufas."

"Too lazy to cook anything tonight?" He wondered.

"I haven't eaten much the past couple days and I didn't sleep well last night, so anything big is out." Jay said, flicking on the stove and getting a pan. "Not to mention I noticed a few traces of mutilated white sneaker on the living room floor while Mom and Lana were giving me hell."

Roufas chuckled. "Of course."

"Honestly, Roufas... why my shoes? I always thought that was more of a canine thing." Jay said, filling the pan with water and setting it on the burner. "Then again... if you were a Growlithe or something, you'd probably try to climb the living room curtains."

"I can't help it I like to destroy human footwear." He replied, flicking his tail in annoyance. "Maybe I get it from my Dad, he's a Ninetales, after all."

"Good point." Jay muttered, digging through a cupboard. "On the other hand, Blaze never ate Mom's shoes."

"How about we drop the topic and you serve dinner already?" Roufas suggested. "I can hear growling coming from the stomach of our guest."

"Oh, sorry Simoon. One second."

---

As unusual as it might have been, that meal was probably the best one Simoon had eaten since leaving home. Though still wary of the two of them, she couldn't help feeling a little more relaxed afterwards. Although most of the talking was between Jay and Roufas, it reminded her of dinner back home. She'd never gotten into the conversation much there, either.

After they finished, Jay went to the living room and focused on his strange computer thing, occasionally asking her something about her home. Roufas had sat with them for a few minutes before wandering down the hallway for some reason.

"Hey, Simoon. You said you left the island on a ship, right?" Jay asked, glancing at her from the other end of the couch.

She nodded. "Yes, I think that's what it was called."

"Did you see anything written on the side of it? If you knew the name of the ship, it'd make things a lot easier."

"I never got a good look at the outside of it. Even if I did, I wouldn't have been able to read anything written on it." She explained.

"Oh, right. I forgot you wouldn't be able to read." Jay sighed. "Well, if you're interested, I'm sure Roufas can teach you a little."

"Jay, come here for a second!" Roufas yelled before she could respond.

Setting his laptop on the table, Jay grumbled. "Wonder what he broke this time."

Simoon watched him disappear down the hallway, thought about it for a moment, then hopped off the couch and followed after him. He headed into his bedroom, closing the door behind him and Simoon hurried over as quietly as she could to listen, wondering what was going on. Roufas' voice was the first she heard.

"...know what I'm getting at, right?"

"I have a pretty good idea. What do you expect me to do about it, though?" Jay asked.

"You take this, and deal with the problem." There was a thump from inside the room.

"There are a few issues with that idea, Rou. First of all, this wouldn't work very well on her. Second, she scares me. Third, and most important of the lot, I'd probably be roasted alive in the process. She already scorched the back of my neck bad enough I had to buy ointment for it when she wasn't even aiming at me."

"What are you planning to do about it then? Nothing?" Roufas asked.

"Well..." A few moments passed in silence, then Jay sighed. "...I'll get what's needed and take care of Simoon tomorrow. Alright? Right now I just want to relax. I'm sure she does too."

Simoon gulped, quickly moving back down the hall before Jay decided to open the door and found her listening. The two of them may not have said exactly what they were talking about, but she had a good idea. Good enough to know she had to find a way out of that place tonight, before they could go through with whatever they were planning.


	5. Escape Sensations

Jay ran as fast as he could through the pouring rain, but there was no escaping it. The Charizard charging down the road behind him moved a lot faster than he could. It was only a matter of time before it caught him and either crushed him, tore him apart or turned him into charcoal. Something slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground. A second later a voice thundered into his ears and something hit his head.

"I said wake the hell up!"

Jay opened his eyes, breathing heavily from the nightmare. Not to mention the pressure on his back that was easy to identify. "What... what time is it?" He mumbled, trying to steady his breathing. A difficult task with his roommate sitting on him.

Roufas smacked him in the head again. "Two, but that's not important! Get up, now!" He said, a rare trace of panic in his voice.

Just the tone was enough to wake Jay up in a hurry. Roufas jumped off the moment he started to try and get up. "What's wrong?"

"It's Simoon, just move!" He said, grabbing something off the floor and running out of the room.

Rolling out of bed, he hurried after the Persian, tripping over his blanket and almost smacking into the door-frame because of the darkness. Sliding his fingers along the wall as he went down the hallway, he heard Roufas bump into one of the kitchen chairs. By the time Jay got that far, the Pokemon door he had put in was swinging to a stop. Opening the back door, he caught sight of Simoon's burning tail right away. She was on the ground by the fence, a fallen plastic chair nearby.

Roufas dropped something by her and looked at Jay. "Would you open this damn thing and use it?"

Jay hurried over, dropping onto the ground and grabbing what Roufas had brought out. It was the first aid kit he had taken with him on his camping trip. It clicked open and he removed the potion he had stuck in it, turning to Simoon. Carefully shifting the Charmander onto her side, he flinched upon seeing the bloody gash on the back of her head.

"What the hell was she doing?" He wondered, taking a cloth from the box and wiping away the blood before spraying the potion on her wound.

"I'd say she was trying to leave by climbing over the fence." Roufas said, looking at the chair. "Hard to believe something made of plastic could do that much damage, though."

"It wasn't the chair." Jay said, noticing the red rock that had been underneath Simoon's head. "She just landed in the worst possible spot. Why would she want to leave in the first place? We're trying to find her home, after all. Does she just not want to go back?"

"I don't know." Roufas muttered, staring at the grass. "It's times like this I wish they would build a Pokemon Center in this town."

Jay's fingers twitched at the thought. "It's not..." He muttered, then shook his head. "I don't think it's bad enough to warrant that sort of place."

"I hope not."

"You and me both." He said, reaching down to pick up Simoon when a feeling made him stop. Jumping to his feet, he spun around, as if expecting to find someone standing there. Apart from the light coming from Simoon's tail lighting up where he was, the backyard was covered in shadow. The feeling that something was about to grab him had passed before he even fully stood up, but it left him trembling.

"Jay, what's wrong?" Roufas asked, looking around.

"I just thought... I don't know." He muttered, a twinge of pain in the back of his head. "Just imagining things, I guess."

"Afraid of the dark?"

"Of course not. That's just stupid." Jay said, watching over his shoulder as he bent down to pick up Simoon. "If I'm afraid of anything, it's what might be hiding in the dark."

"If your vision at night is as bad as you say, I can understand that." Roufas said, leading the way to the back door. "I haven't seen or heard anything."

"Neither have I... it was just a feeling. I'm probably just edgy after those nightmares and then this." He sighed, taking one last glance at the backyard before closing and locking the door. "Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning."

---

Simoon twitched, starting to wake up. Her head was aching, but that wasn't what had woken her up. It was the light flicking sensation tickling the bottom of her right foot. Slowly sitting up and rubbing her head, she caught sight of the cause. Roufas' ear. Quickly trying to move backwards, she accidentally kicked him and woke him up too.

Roufas glanced up at her, eyes half-open. "How's the head?"

"Sore... w-what happened?" She stuttered, bumping into the arm of the couch.

"You landed on a rock. Luckily, Gail saw you and woke me up to help. By biting my tail. She really needs to try being a bit more gentle." He said with a yawn, rolling off the couch and stretching. "Then I got Jay, who healed you up and brought you back inside."

"Gail told you? I thought..."

"She didn't like you?" Roufas guessed. "Actually, she made a point of telling me exactly that before she left. I'm still not sure why, though."

Right..." Simoon mumbled, turning and looking out the window. Now she was confused and it was already morning, which ruined her chances of escape.

"Why were you trying to leave, anyway?" Roufas asked, sitting down. "Do you not want to go back to that island?"

"Of course I do... I just..." Her muscles tensed, not sure what to expect for a reaction. "...I heard you and Jay last night. Planning to do something to me."

"Oh, you heard us?" Roufas muttered, looking away rather quickly. "Sorry if I sounded rude, but I'm used to speaking my mind with Jay."

"Rude? The human said he was going to 'take care of me' today! That's more threatening than anything!"

Roufas blinked at her. "Simoon, are you sure you've never seen a television before? Because it sounds like you watch too many gangster movies if you think that was a cue to 'whack' you."

Simoon stared at him. "Then... what were you...?"

"I guess you didn't hear what I said first." He sighed. "We were just discussing one of the details about you living here for a while. We've got most things covered, but one is... still in need of fixing. We're not planning to hurt you or anything like that. If that was the case, why would Jay be trying to find your home?"

"I... hadn't thought of it like that." She admitted. "Still, what were you talking-"

"Hey, you hungry?" Roufas interrupted, turning around in a hurry. "Let's go wake Jay up so we can get some breakfast."

"W-wait a second!" Simoon said, the Persian ignoring her. She sighed, hopping off the couch and following after him. Already irritated, confused and sore, she didn't want hungry on the list too.

"You know..." Roufas said as she entered Jay's bedroom. "...he was pretty worried when he went back to bed, maybe you should be the one to wake him up. That way he'll know you're okay right away."

"You want me to?" Simoon looked up at the bed. It wasn't that much taller than her, but getting to the top might be a problem anyway. Especially since trying to scale something was why her head was still aching.

"Here." Roufas crouched down next to the bed. "I'll give you a lift up. Just promise you won't start singing 'kitty-cat rodeo' like Hickory has before."

"Sure..." She mumbled, having no idea what he was talking about. Using the Persian as a stepping-stool, she hoisted herself onto the bed and promptly toppled onto her side when she tried to stand up. The top was hard to stay upright on since it was unusually soft and springy, almost like trying to walk in sand during an earthquake. "How exactly do I wake him up, anyway?"

"Same as you would with anyone else."

"I've only ever had to wake up my Brother before, and he was always grouchy about it."

Roufas shook his head. "The only time Jay wakes up in a bad mood is when Gail starts singing outside his window. If it's you, I'm pretty sure about how he'll react. Just tell him to wake up."

"Okay..." Simoon moved a little closer. "...Jay? Roufas wants you to wake up, so... um..."

Roufas sighed. "You might want to try speaking a little louder."

"Right..." Hesitating for a moment, she leaned forward and barely rose her voice from what it was before. "Wake up, Jay. It's morning."

"I'm starting to think you're really bad at this."

"It's different, waking up strangers compared to family." Simoon said, glancing at him. "My Brother usually fell asleep sitting up, so all I had to do was knock him over or poke him in the head a few times. How do you usually wake Jay up?"

"Depends on how hungry I am. Sitting on him, biting his feet, smacking him in the head, pulling his hair." Roufas smirked. "Licking his nose. He hates that almost as much as Gail's singing."

"I wouldn't be too fond of it myself." She commented, looking back at Jay for a moment before slowly approaching his face.

"You're not going to-"

"Of course not." She said quickly, reaching out and taking a clawful of Jay's brown hair, giving it a tug. "Jay, wake up already."

Jay groaned and Simoon released his hair, backing a few inches away. Opening his eyes slightly, he looked at her and they flew fully open. "Holy crap!" He cried, pushing himself backwards and falling off the bed.

"I knew that'd get you up in a hurry." Roufas laughed, walking around and grinning at him.

"Damn it, Roufas. I wonder why I put up with you sometimes." Jay grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his head. "You feeling alright, Simoon?"

"Just a little sore..." She mumbled.

"That's good." He said, getting to his feet. "I'll go get your breakfast ready."

Simoon waited until after he left before moving to the edge of the bed and looking down at Roufas. "Why did he look at me like that when he woke up?"

"Like what?" Roufas asked.

"It was only for a second, but I could have sworn he looked terrified of me."

Roufas nodded. "I don't know if I'd go that far, but you do frighten him. Something happened when he was a kid, and he's been scared of Charmanders and the like ever since."

Simoon stared at him for a few moments, waiting for an explanation. "Well?" She pressed once it seemed like the Persian wasn't going to continue.

He just shrugged. "I honestly don't know. It was before my time, so you'd have to ask him. You'll probably get the same answer I do, though. He always says he can't remember."

"Oh..." Simoon glanced at the door, wondering what had happened.

"Well, let's go eat. That was the whole reason to wake him up in the first place."

"R-right..."

---

Once Jay was sure Roufas and Simoon had a decent breakfast in front of them, he hurried out the door without bothering to fix himself anything. After spending most of the night drifting between nightmares and worrying about Simoon, he had to keep moving to get his mind off things. Starting up the motorcycle, he headed for the hospital. Talking with Roufas or Magnus usually helped him sort out his thoughts, and he figured the latter was more in need of company.

When he arrived Magnus was sitting up in bed, a book in one hand and a pile of them on his bedside table. He stared at Jay for a moment before speaking. "Never thought I'd see you awake this early during summer vacation."

"I had a rough night." Jay said, closing the door and dropping onto the chair by the bed.

"Nightmares again?" Magnus asked, setting down his book.

"That, plus the cause of them nearly killing herself by landing head-first on a rock. It's like she's just trying to find a variety of ways to scare me." Jay sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Who are you talking about?" A curious voice inquired from the corner.

Jay felt his stomach tighten, looking at where the voice had come from. "Oh, hey. Didn't see you over there." He said, forcing a grin and wondering how bad this day was going to get. "You're here early, Lana."

"You're one to talk." She replied, closing the book she had been holding and setting it on the arm of her chair. "Who got hurt last night?"

"N-nobody you know. Just someone I met during my short trip to Viridian Forest." He said quickly. "She's fine now though, nothing to worry about."

"You met her during the trip?" Lana wondered.

Jay nodded.

"And you saw her again last night?"

"Uh... you see-"

"No use hiding it anymore, man." Magnus interrupted. "Lana, Jay told me about a hottie he met in the forest. Apparently she was just passing through, but they ended up spending some time together. He gave her a lift down here and I talked him into asking her out before she left town." He glanced at Jay. "I'm guessing it didn't go well, huh?"

After a moment of staring blankly at his friend, Jay shook his head. "That's putting it lightly."

Lana looked at them, clearly skeptical. "Jay on a date with someone he just met? Please. If that were true it'd be all over Pallet by now, there are only two good places to eat in town and both have rumor-mongers."

"That's why I also suggested he cook her something himself, to keep the gossip from starting and maybe even impress her in the process." Magnus added. "Jay might not have the makings of a master chef like Daniel, but he's not bad."

Lana shook her head. "I can't believe he'd take advice like that from you in the first place."

"Hey, I may not look it, but I can be quite romantic." Magnus grinned at her. "If you don't believe me, I could..."

"Whatever it is, I'll pass." She said, heading to the door. "Anyway, I have a few errands to run and I'd like them to be done before this evening. See you two later."

Magnus blinked as the door closed behind her. "That was surprisingly easy. She's gotta be up to something."

"Knowing Lana, she'll wait until I'm alone and then grill me. By now she knows trying to get a straight answer from me when you're around is next to impossible." Jay crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "How the hell did you come up with that so fast, anyway?"

"Just playing to my strengths. Making stuff on the spot and having it sound convincing is just something I'm good at." He shrugged.

Jay chuckled. "You've certainly had enough practice."

"Ha ha." Magnus looked back at his book. "What happened with that Pokemon?"

"I think she was trying to run away. Roufas woke me up and I found her unconscious in the backyard. It looked like she was trying to climb over the back fence."

"What is she, anyway?" He asked, turning the page. "You forgot to tell me last time."

"A Charmander."

Magnus' hand stopped halfway through turning another page. "Well... that explains why you're having nightmares again."

"Yeah. Just looking at her makes me twitchy. Especially like last night, when..." He trailed off, thinking about that feeling he had gotten.

"Jay? You alright?" Magnus wondered. "You're looking a little pale."

"Y-yeah. Just thinking." Jay said, tapping his fingers against the arm of the chair and trying to get his mind off it. "What's with all the books, anyway?"

"I asked Lana to bring them over for me because if I have to watch anymore news, talk shows, or reality TV, I'm going to lose my mind." He complained, gesturing to the television. "I watched 'Nine Lives to Live' the other day for crying out loud. They need to get cable or something."

"Isn't that the soap opera that uses Pokemon actors with voice-overs? Supposed to be based around a Meowth, if I remember right."

"A couple of them, a Skitty... it's mostly a feline cast. There's even a Purugly that's like a mob boss or something." Magnus explained.

"It sounds absurd." Jay said with a laugh.

"You've got that right. Anyway..." Magnus began flipping through his book again. "...I figured I could use some of my time to start on your request for help. These are mostly geography books, giving info on different regions and islands. I thought I might be able to find something useful in one of them."

"Oh... I'll leave you to it, then. I have a few errands of my own to run." Jay said, standing up.

"Like what?"

The six scratches down Magnus' sidecar entered Jay's mind. "Supplies for Simoon, a new lock for my door so Mom can't barge in, a mechanic, breakfast... nothing special." He said, hurrying out of the room.

"Right. Good luck with tha... wait a second. Mechanic?"

Jay practically sprinted down the hall as Magnus' cry of "What the hell did you do to my bike?!" came from behind him. Explaining could be done later, after the bike was fixed but before Magnus had his cast removed.

---

Simoon paced in the backyard, still unsure about staying. Looking at the scratch marks left in the fence where she had fallen, she decided that making another climb would be too dangerous. Especially in the daylight. Maybe sticking around for a little while wouldn't be as bad as she thought. Her Uncle did tell her there were just as many good humans as bad ones out in the world, even though she'd mainly seen the worse side so far.

What Roufas had mentioned and what she had overheard continued to nag at the back of her mind. They weren't talking like it was anything simple, and Jay didn't sound too thrilled at the time about solving whatever the problem was. She'd tried to get Roufas to explain it a few more times after Jay had left, but couldn't get anything out of him. He did let it slip that she probably wouldn't like it either at first, which just caused more anxiety.

"Still hanging around?" A familiar voice asked.

Simoon looked up and saw Gail perching on the fence. "I don't have much of a choice right now..."

The Pidgey ruffled her feathers a bit. "Fine, but you'd better not stay long."

"Why do you seem to hate me?" Simoon wondered, hoping to clear up at least one of the things confusing her. "I'm sure we've never met before."

"Because of what you're doing. Just leave as quickly as you can, before you end up causing too much damage." Gail glanced at something on the other side of the fence. "That's all we have time for." She said, turning and preparing to leave.

"Wait a second! If I'm causing problems, why did you tell Roufas I was hurt?"

Gail hesitated for a moment. "If that blow to the head had killed you, things would have ended up worse than I'm expecting. Besides, I just want you gone, not dead." She said, before flying off.

Simoon rubbed her head, still clueless about what the Pidgey's problem was. She didn't think she was causing damage, the only painful thing that came to mind was the rock she'd landed on. A familiar rumbling sound came from the distance, getting closer and distracting her. It came to a stop nearby and Simoon headed back inside, hoping that unlike Roufas and Gail, Jay might be able to give her a proper answer or two.

Pushing up the swinging door back inside, she heard the front door open and Jay's voice come from the living room. "Well, I got the stuff. I don't suppose you told her?"

"I thought a surprise might be more fun." Roufas replied.

"Great." Jay sighed. "I just hope she doesn't set me on fire. Where is she?"

"Right here." Simoon said, walking into the room. "Look, can we just hurry and get whatever you're planning over with? I wanted to ask you a couple things..."

Jay glanced at the thing on the wall that made a constant clicking noise she was still trying to get used to. "Well, how about you guys eat lunch first? I wanted to get the new lock taken care of first."

"Sounds good to me." Roufas said, hopping off the couch. "You get Mag's bike fixed up?"

"Yeah, Roger took care of those scratches right away. Nothing to worry about."

Giving a small, irritated sigh, Simoon wandered back into the kitchen. With any luck, her building headache would be gone before it was time for whatever Jay had planned.

Two hours later the pain, along with her patience, were coming to an end. Jay had been doing something to the front door since they finished lunch, though she wasn't sure what. The door had been open for most of that time and she probably could have made it out easily, but decided against it. Curiosity had gotten the better of her... not to mention there was a good chance she could run into even worse problems outside.

Finally, Jay stood up and gave the door a kick shut. "That's why handyman is not on my list of career choices." He commented, tossing something aside.

Roufas grinned at him. "At least you don't have a gaping hole in the wall like when you tried to install the Pokemon door for me."

"Don't remind me." Jay sighed. "I'm just glad Sam was able fix that."

"Yes, but now don't you have another matter to take care of?" Roufas asked. flicking his tail in Simoon's direction.

"I know, I know." Taking the only full bag left sitting on the table, he headed down the hallway. "Simoon, would you mind joining me? There are a couple things we should talk about."

The Charmander had hurried after him before he even finished his question. Following him into a room she hadn't been in before, she tried to remember what Roufas had said about it during the little tour. Something about it not being very important. However, the door closing behind her and trapping her inside with Jay made her think that knowing just what the place was used for was far from unimportant.

"About how long has it been since you left your home?" He asked, walking over to a piece of cloth on the floor and sitting down.

Simoon thought for a moment. "I don't know... a month, maybe more."

"And since you got off that ship, you spent most of your time trying to find a way back, right?"

She nodded. "That, plus trying to find food, safe places to rest and running from crazy humans and Pokemon. Why?"

"It's just... there's an..." Jay rapped his fingers on the floor, obviously straining to find the right words. "...it's about you staying here for a while. There are some details that have to be sorted out. We've got food and bedding covered, I've taken care of security from nosy people with the new lock, so that just leaves why we're in here."

"Which is?" Simoon asked, keeping an eye on the bag still in his hand.

"Hygeine." He took a bottle from the bag and set in on the floor between them. "I found this at the shop. It's supposed to be like shampoo, but for scales instead of hair."

Simoon blinked, wondering what exactly "shampoo" was, but also remembering she hadn't had the chance to properly clean herself off in ages. "So you mean I..."

"Smell like the underside of a Grimer." Roufas said from outside the room.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Rou."

"Anytime."

"Sorry about him." Jay sighed. "Being tactful isn't his strong point."

Looking down, Simoon did notice her scales were lacking the sheen they used to have. Not to mention the unpleasant aroma she had noticed a week ago. The first time she noticed it was back when she was in the forest and figured it was just part of the environment. After that she just got used to it. Of course, knowing where it was really coming made the choice easy. "Okay. Use it."

"If you're sure." Jay leaned over, twisting a large knob on the wall beside him. Water suddenly gushed out of the metal object beneath it, falling behind the short, white wall he had been leaning against.

Simoon watched him cautiously. "You need water for it?"

"Of course." He put his hand under the stream. "What else would you use to get clean?"

"The magma pools worked well enough back home."

For a moment, Jay looked at her as if she was crazy, then shook his head. "If you can handle that, I guess I don't need to worry about the water being too hot."

"No..." Simoon approached where the water was going into. The top of the wall was about eye-level with her. Before she could ask how she was supposed to get to the other side, Jay grabbed her just under the arms and lifted her over. Fighting back her reflex to scratch him for picking her up without any sort of warning, she decided it would be better to just grit her teeth and get it over with quickly.

Jay started to reach for where the water was coming out, but hesitated just before he touched it. "Simoon, about your tail flame... will anything bad happen if it gets wet?"

She looked at him, puzzled. "Like what?"

"Well, I heard somewhere that if it's doused it can... have bad side effects. To put it lightly." He explained.

"I've never heard of anything like that. It can be used to measure how healthy we are, among other things, but that's about it." She started to submerge her tail and Jay went to grab it, stopping as the burning tip went under. "See? Nothing happens."

He gave a sigh of relief as the fire reignited once she lifted the tip of her tail back out of the water. "Don't scare me like that."

Letting her tail drop again, Simoon stared at him. She didn't know what he was expecting to happen, but he did seem genuinely concerned. Beginning to think her Uncle was right about there being some good humans, she flinched as it suddenly started raining on her.

Jay noticed her reaction. "Ah, s-sorry. I should have said something before I turned on the shower... I'm just not thinking very clearly right now."

"What's wrong?" She asked, already having a good idea of the answer. His trembling hands made it fairly obvious.

Jay glanced over his shoulder. "Just... a strange feeling."

Waiting until he had done something to stop the rain, Simoon gave the water a half-hearted swipe. "You're afraid of me."

"No... yes... sort of." Tapping his fingers on it for a second, Jay popped open the bottle. "It's hard to explain. Just close your eyes, alright? You don't want this stuff getting in them."

Turning to face the floor and expecting whatever was in the bottle to be dumped over her, she tensed upon feeling Jay's hands beginning to rub her head and back. "W-what are you doing?" She stuttered, ready once again to take a swing at him.

"Following the instructions. I'm not exactly thrilled about this either, so I'll try to make it fast." He said, focusing his fingers on a small part of her head for a moment. "It is working, I can already see a difference here."

Simoon closed her eyes, trying to ignore how uneasy she was feeling about being in such close contact with a human. After all she'd been through after leaving home, she just couldn't help thinking about the number of ways he could attack and what little resistance she could offer in the situation. The water was shallow, but deep enough to cover her face,,, his hands were only a few inches from wrapping around her throat... she had her back to him, so setting him on fire wasn't an option and there was no telling what else he had in that bag he could reach for...

She gulped, wishing her imagination would get under control. Thinking of something to keep her mind elsewhere, she remembered there was a reason she was putting up with this. To ask a few questions and, hopefully, get some answers this time. "Why are you afraid of me? Roufas said something happened, but he didn't say much else."

Jay's hands went still for a second. "I don't know. I was six when it happened, so I only remember pieces. It was storming, there was a lot of mud... a really pissed off Charizard... and a Charmeleon that went to bite me in the throat..." His hands stopped again. When he spoke, it seemed more like he was talking to himself. "I don't understand that part. I mean, if that's what happened, I should have been killed, or at least have a scar."

Simoon opened one eye a little, looking back at him. He had a soapy hand to his neck and a distant, confused expression on his face. "That's all you remember?" She asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Yeah." He mumbled, going back to work.

"Why me, then? You didn't mention a Charmander."

"It's not really you, it's just... sometimes when I look at you, I get scared. Not of you, but of... something else." Jay rested his forehead on top of the short divider and sighed. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Simoon shook her head. "Not at all."

He looked up, giving her a weak smile. "Don't think too much about it. After all, what's important is getting you back home, right?"

"Right..." She nodded, turning away and closing her eye again. "...but you don't know how long that will take, do you?"

"I'm hoping a week at the most. I don't have any classes this summer, so I can focus on the research."

"That's not too long." She mulled over an idea for a few seconds. Jay didn't seem like the other humans she'd run into after all, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Why don't we use that time to help each other a little? I mean, if we make each other nervous... maybe..."

"Getting to know each other would put some fears to rest. Exactly." Roufas interjected from outside the room. "Nice to see one of you picked up on my hints."

"Is eavesdropping your new hobby?" Jay asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Only when there's nothing good on television."

"Oh... go eat a shoe."

Simoon grinned. The relationship Jay seemed to have with Roufas was enough to convince her trying to get along with him was worth a shot. "He might be right. What do you say?"

"Alright... it couldn't hurt. Let's start by working together. Give me your hand." There was a popping sound and Simoon glanced over her shoulder at Jay. He was holding up the bottle of shampoo. "I'll just take care of what you can't reach."

"I'm surprised you didn't think of that sooner." Roufas said.

Jay turned to the door. "I've only ever given you a bath before now, and you're never any help. If you're so interested in overcoming fears, maybe I should start helping you get over your fear of water."

"I think I'll go see what's on TV."

"So much for the commentary." Jay said, his eyes stopping on the bag for a second. There was something small in it, but Simoon couldn't tell what. "There is one more thing I didn't mention about you staying here. It's more of a... favor, than anything."

Starting to get nervous again, she shifted her position enough so setting him on fire was an option. "What sort of favor...?"


	6. Thunderous Thoughts

Sitting on the floor between the couch and coffee table, Jay stared at his laptop, listening to the printer on his desk as another picture of yet another island fell onto the pile that had been growing over the past three days. So far, the search had turned up nothing. Not that he expected it to be the first one they looked at, but it would have been nice. Checking the list, they had gone through about half of the places on it. Sure, so far nothing too bad had come of Simoon staying apart from Lana trying to get an explanation out of him about Magnus' lie and his Mom grilling him about the new lock, but that could change fast.

A trio of gunshots rang out from the television, getting Jay's attention. The image made him wonder just what the hell Roufas had turned on. It was a Lucario in a trenchcoat and fedora, holding a smoking revolver. The image switched to a Meowth and Skitty running away as another shot hit the ground between them.

"You can't run forever, Theo!" The Lucario shouted, firing again.

Jay rolled his eyes, recognizing the name. "It's already time for your crazy shows, Rou?"

"Quiet. They're supposedly killing off a main character this week and I don't want to miss it. They just better not get rid of one of my favorites, like most of these shows do." The Persian said, not taking his eyes off the TV.

"It's only Wednesday, what could you miss?"

Roufas only shushed him again in reply and Jay shook his head. If "Nine Lives to Live" was on, it was past noon... and Simoon was still asleep. She'd gotten up late the past couple of days as well, which made Jay wonder if there was much of a time difference between here and her home. Searching the map to see what listed islands it would be morning for right now, he heard his bedroom door creak open.

"Good afternoon." Jay said as the Charmander wandered into the living room, eyes barely open and one hand tugging lazily at the purple, gemmed collar around her neck. "If it's annoying, you can take it off. It was only a favor."

"Like you said, it's safer this way." Simoon replied, yawning.

He gave a slight nod, remembering his explanation that if someone did see her, the collar would make people think she was already with a trainer and Jay could say he was just looking after her for someone. Of course, that was only half the reason. The other half was for his own peace of mind. The stone set into it was special, it prevented evolution. As long as she was wearing it, there was no chance of suddenly having a Charmeleon in the house, which would be a hell of a lot harder to live with than a Charmander.

That's when a connection crossed his mind. "Is it keeping you awake at night? You've been getting up late ever since agreeing to wear it."

"No." She glanced at the couch for a moment, then sat on the floor next to Jay. Apparently the climb required more energy than she could muster. "I'm just not used to the sleeping conditions yet."

"It was your idea to sleep in my closet. If it's too small, I can move you somewhere else." Jay offered.

"Maybe it's the same reason I stopped sleeping in your room." Roufas suggested.

"I doubt it. The reason you stopped was because you evolved and got too fat for us to share the bed anymore."

Roufas scowled. "It's a double bed, so if you didn't have to sleep in the middle... but that's not the main reason I stopped anyway. It was the racket you make every night."

"I don't snore that loudly." Jay grumbled.

"Yes, you do. You keep me awake when I'm out here sometimes."

"Sound is one thing, but it's too quiet." Simoon mumbled, struggling to stay sitting up. "Everyone back home slept in the same cavern. Jay's snoring is nothing compared to them."

"Well, that's... interesting." Jay said, not sure how he should feel about a comment like that. Looking back at the monitor and going to click on the next island's info, he froze upon feeling a sudden weight on his left thigh. Simoon had fallen back to sleep, tilted over and was now using his leg as a pillow.

Roufas noticed and chuckled. "Well, at least one of you is getting comfortable around the other."

"Yeah. Great." Jay sighed, shaking his head and forcing his fingers to start moving again. "I just wish she could stay awake long enough to look at a few of these islands and tell me if we've found her home yet."

"I doubt she slept well after leaving, so she's probably just catching up on the rest she lost." Roufas suggested.

"I don't think it works like that, Rou-" A knock on the door interrupted him. Jay quickly looked from it to Simoon and swore under his breath. "J-just a minute!"

* * *

Simoon yawned, half-opening her eyes and looking at the television. There was a human in front of a picture on it this time, gesturing in an unusual fashion.

_...and tonight, thunderstorms will roll in from the south, lasting throughout most of tomorrow._ The human said._ For our five-day forecast... _The sound cut off, four red letters appearing at the bottom of the screen.

"First a charmander, now storms. Jay's going to have one hell of a time sleeping peacefully tonight." Someone sighed.

Simoon froze. That voice wasn't Roufas, and Jay had never referred to himself like that before. She tilted her head a bit, looking at the human sitting on the couch only a few inches from her feet. He was focused on the TV and his face was obscured by long, puffed out hair that was almost the same shade of orange as her scales.

Roufas' voice came from the other end of the couch. "No kidding. I hate when there's thunder. Jay usually stays up until it passes, then he's next to impossible to wake up in the morning."

"That... was an agreement, right?" The human asked.

Jay's voice came from the next room. "Yes it was, coupled with a complaint about my sleeping habits." He walked in from the kitchen, giving the TV an irritated look. "Freaking weather. I'd planned on going to the store tomorrow."

"I suppose it is a bit far to walk or bike in the rain." The other human commented.

"Yeah, let's go with that." Jay muttered, glancing at the pair of them, then noticing her. "Finally awake again? I'll get you something to eat." He said, vanishing back into the kitchen.

The other human turned to look at her and grinned. "Hey, good afternoon! I'm Magnus, Jay asked me to help with getting you back home. Apparently I'll also be staying here for a while since it's going to rain and I'm not supposed to get my cast wet, but I'm sure we'll get along just fine!" He said brightly.

Simoon just blinked at him, not sure how to react. She hadn't been given a greeting like that before, on her home island or off.

"Mag, I know how giddy you can get around Pokemon, but you might want to calm down." Jay called out from the other room. "If you're not careful you're going to scare her, get fried and end up back in the clinic. Not to mention I'll have to figure out what gets scorch marks out of couch fabric."

Magnus glanced at the doorway to the kitchen, answering in the same cheerful tone. "Glad to know you care, buddy!"

Roufas leaned out to look around Magnus and at her. "Don't worry, he can be a little too enthusiastic, but he's harmless to anyone other than himself. He also can't understand a word we say, so keep that in mind."

She stared for a moment, then nodded.

Magnus turned back to her, still grinning. "Alright then, I... wait, this won't work." He scratched his head, glancing over his shoulder. "Hey Jay, you almost done in there? I kinda need you to play translator."

"Just a minute, geez." Jay replied, something clattering in the background. "Simoon just woke up, I'm sure she doesn't want to play twenty questions with you right away."

Regardless of Jay's comment, they all spent the next few hours talking, though it took her a while to get used to Jay having to repeat most of she or Roufas said for Magnus. The main impression she got about the new human was that he was reckless, since most of his stories involved him getting hurt or in trouble one way or another. Occasionally taking Jay along for the ride, like during his recollection of when they were both arrested in Viridian City last year. They also went over most of the pile of island information Jay had gotten, but came up empty.

It was after dinner by the time the conversation was brought to an abrupt stop by the rumble of thunder in the distance.

"Damn." Jay muttered, his eyes going to the window. "Here it comes."

"Just try to ignore it. Not like you can change the weather." Magnus said, considering for a moment. "Though that would be cool. Imagine calling up a blizzard and having a snowball fight in July."

"No thanks, I like the cold as much as storms." Jay muttered. Thunder sounded again, twice as loud as before, and his face paled slightly. "On second thought, snow doesn't make that sound. Cue the blizzard, Mag."

"It was hypothetical, Jay." Magnus chuckled. "Besides, every type of weather is good for something."

"What in the world could thunder and lightning be good for?"

"That's obvious." He smirked. "Right Roufas?"

"Of course." The Persian agreed, hopping off the couch and going over to one of the cabinets by the television.

"Oh... hell no." Jay said, quickly getting up heading down the hall. "I don't need more nightmares on top of what I already have, thank you very much."

"Come on, Jay, they're just movies!" Magnus called after him.

"You and Roufas enjoy yourselves, I'll be in my room. Simoon, I suggest you join me."

Simoon looked from Jay to Magnus, unsure of what they were talking about.

Magnus just grinned at her. "Don't worry, we'll start you off easy, right Rou?"

"As easy as we can, given the selection." Roufas hooked a claw onto one of the movies lining the bottom shelf and tugged it out onto the floor. "Actually, I've got just the thing."

* * *

Jay was on his bed, so absorbed in the book he was reading he barely noticed the rain pounding against his window or the thunder that sounded occasionally. Though the flash beforehand and ones close enough to make the house tremble were hard to ignore. He turned the page, wondering how Ranger Jones was going to escape the raging Golem, when his bedroom door creaked open. Glancing up from the book as the door shut back around, he saw Simoon heading toward the closet, looking unsteady and distracted.

Jay frowned, having an idea of what was on her mind. Knowing how jumpy she could be, he tried to keep his tone natural. "Simoon-"

The Charmander flinched to the side, bumping into the wall as she turned to face him.

"...uh, I was going to ask if you were okay, but I don't think I need to now." He sighed, shaking his head. "Damn Magnus, Roufas and their horror movies. You remember I told you most of what you see on that box isn't real, right? It's just for entertainment."

She stared at him for a few moments before speaking. "H-how is that sort of thing entertaining?"

He shrugged. "Got me, I prefer comedy or action movies."

"Next time, I'm making sure you pick one then." Simoon gave a shaky breath. "If I ever want to risk looking at the thing again after that."

"I know what you mean. I remember when Magnus made me watch one, claiming he was starting me off easy... had trouble sleeping for a couple days after that."

"I believe it." Simoon took a couple steps toward the closet, stared at the partly open door for a moment and turned away from it.

"Let me guess..." Jay said, watching her. "...psychopath with a knife in the closet?"

She nodded.

"Same one they showed me first." He shuddered at the memory. "Gory as hell."

The charmander glanced over her shoulder and fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um... Jay, would it be okay if I sat with you for a while?"

His fingers twitched a little, tapping the cover of the book. Old, well-established fears made him want to say no, but he knew where she was coming from. After watching the same movie, he didn't want to be alone in the dark either. "Alright, I don't see-"

Not waiting for the rest of the sentence, she started to climb up the side of the bed. Unfortunately the blanket she grabbed to pull herself to the top wasn't held down and she toppled backward onto the floor as it slid off.

_Climbing really isn't her strong point._ Jay thought, trying not to grin. "You okay?"

"Fine..." She muttered, keeping her eyes on the ceiling.

"Let me help you up, I don't need to worry about you getting another head injury." Taking his book in one hand and offering the other down to Simoon, a flash of lightning lit up the room and he suddenly found himself somewhere else.

Jay was on his knees, cold rain beating down and thunder raging overhead. He was staring down at a charmander half-coated in mud, blood staining its left leg, which was twisted enough that even a glance would tell you it was broken. The weight in his hand that was once a book was now a muddy stick, stained red at the end. The little Pokemon looked up at him, pain, fear and his own distorted reflection in its eyes. Light overtook the scene and thunder clapped loudly in his ears.

When the light faded, he was looking at Simoon, who was sitting up on the floor and watching him with a concerned expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

He dropped his book, jerking his hand away from it as if it had burst into flame. "I... I just..." Taking a couple shaky breaths, he tried to stop himself from trembling. _What the hell was that? _

"Jay...?"

"It's nothing. Forget it." He muttered, carefully picking her up and setting her on the bed.

She frowned at him. "You're getting scared of me again, aren't you?"

"I'm scared all right, but not of you." He said, glancing at his hands. _Just myself..._

"Don't you remember? We're supposed to be trying to help each other." She reminded him. "Tell me what I can do."

He sighed. "Nothing, really. Besides, you've got enough problems of your own. You shouldn't be concerned about mine."

"In case you've forgotten, I can't seem to solve my own problem, that's why I've got you helping." She said, a hint of irritation entering her voice. "Which means it's only fair I help with yours."

"Right, sorry." A weak smile crossed Jay's face. "And thanks, Simoon. I really can't think of anything you could do, but I'll keep it in mind. Right now, I think I just need to try and get some sleep." Laying back and switching off his bedside lamp, Jay closed his eyes, trying to sort through his thoughts more than sleep.

* * *

Jay awoke on his back, his right side unusually warm. Starting to sit up, he stopped when he noticed the weight on his arm. Lifting up the blanket, he found Simoon curled up against his side with her tail wrapped around his wrist.

"Too early..." She grumbled, burying her face in his shoulder and muttering something he couldn't understand.

Body tensing up as his natural fear kicked in, Jay tried to slide away only to find her claws had been hooked firmly into his shirt. Wondering what he was supposed to do now, he gulped, reaching for her claws with his free hand and cautiously trying to pry himself loose.

Simoon shifted, a soft growl being the only warning before a small flame escaped her mouth and singed two of his fingers.

Giving a yelp of pain and surprise, Jay jerked away out of simple reflex, right off the edge of the bed. The now awake and flailing Charmander quickly followed, since her tail was still wrapped firmly around his wrist. Only a few seconds after the resulting crash Roufas hurried into the room, took one look at the pair of them on the floor and practically choked on a laugh.

"Whatever comment you have, keep it to yourself." Jay muttered crossly. "Are you okay, Simoon?"

The Charmander looked terrified, grasping onto the blanket that got pulled down with them as if her life depended on it. "W-What happened?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"You burnt my fingers, we fell off the bed and I bonked my head on the bedside table in the fall."

"The usual abrupt awakening routine around here, really." Roufas said, not bothering to hide, or even lower, the amusement in his voice.

"You're not helping, you know."

"I'm not trying to."

Jay frowned at the Persian, automatically lifting Simoon in his right arm since she was still attached to his wrist and stepped around the oversized feline. It was too early for him to put up with Roufas' comments or anything else. "Whatever. I need some coffee... and aspirin."

Staring up at him as he yawned and walked down the narrow hallway, Simoon's sleep-hazed mind started to clear. She noticed where her tail was and the small holes in the side of his shirt the size of her claws, along with the earlier mention of his burnt fingers making her realize just what had happened. She must have been dreaming of home and mistaken Jay for her brother. Feeling rather embarrassed, not to mention sorry for burning him, she uncurled her tail. "Jay, I..."

He gave a tired-sounding "Hm?", glanced down at her and yelped in surprise, apparently forgotten who or what was in his arm.

The next thing Simoon knew she was in the air, for the second time in less than five minutes into the day, spinning and flailing. Jay shouted something she barely heard over her own frightened cries and felt something press against her back a moment before she collided face-first with something far softer than the wooden floor. Taking a couple seconds to get her bearings, she realized she had "landed" upright, her hanging tail being the only thing touching the ground.

"Shi... Simoon, are you okay?"

Looking up, she saw what she had hit was Jay's chest, the expression on his face and pounding of his heart making her think he was just as, if not more, shaken by the last handful of seconds than she was. "Y-yes..." Was all she could mumble in reply, staring at him.

"Good... I'll... I'll go get your breakfast ready, alright?" He said, very carefully taking his arms from her back and setting her on the floor. She just watched in silence as he got off his knees and slowly make his way to the kitchen. Even though he seemed to be far more skittish, he really did, in some odd way, remind her of her brother.

* * *

The rest of the day was uneventful. As thunder rumbled outside, the four of them chatted inside again while going over a few more print-outs of islands with no luck and in the evening Magnus and Roufas once again broke out the horror flicks. This time, however, Simoon hurried after Jay when he retreated to his room.

Once there, Jay dropped onto his bed, slid halfway under the blankets, took something off the table and started staring at it. Unsure of what to do herself since she wasn't tired and didn't want to go anywhere near the other two when they were watching that sort of thing, Simoon looked at the human curiously. "What are you doing?"

Jay twitched at her voice, but she had gotten used to him being jumpy around her she barely noticed it. "Just reading a Ranger Jones book."

Tilting her head and having next to no idea what he was talking about, something else she had kind of gotten used to, a piece of his sentence stood out to her. "Ranger?"

"Oh, Pokemon Rangers are people that try to help and protect Pokemon and their natural habitats." Jay explained, closing the book. "They have Pokemon to help them like Trainers, but usually only one or two. In tough situations they might have to capture others for help, but they're normally released again afterwards. Battling's not a big thing for them either, unlike most trainers who are obsessed with being the very best or some such nonsense."

Simoon blinked at him. It was pretty obvious by his tone Jay had some amount of admiration toward Pokemon Rangers. "Is that what you are?"

He hesitated, taken off guard by such a question. "Me?"

"You're helping me, is it because you're a Ranger too?"

"That's not... I'm not even close to being one. Sure, I considered it a long time ago, but I'm not the outdoorsy type to begin with. I'm more of a..." He glanced at the book in his hand. "...well, a bookworm."

"That doesn't change that you're trying to help me, though. If you're not a Ranger and don't want to be one, why take the time to help someone you're obviously scared to even be around?"

Jay sighed, scratching his head. "Well... because I can." He frowned, looking down at his blanket. "I mean, it's..."

Simoon waited, watching him shift uncomfortably as he tried to think of an answer. She honestly didn't care too much about the why herself. For help getting home, she'd take any aid she could get, and Jay was probably the best she could ask for, but she couldn't help being curious about his reason for doing it.

"I don't know how to explain it, exactly. It's just something I've done ever since I can remember. I'd find a Pokemon in trouble and just help any way I could without really thinking about it, like an instinct or reflex." He explained, keeping his eyes down.

"You've done this for a lot of Pokemon?" She wondered.

He shook his head. "Actually, I've never put this much effort in before. Usually it was just a bad situation that could be resolved in a couple hours, if that. A few took a day or two, like with Zed, but those were odd circumstances. Then again, they can't get much odder than yours, so it taking a bit longer is to be expected."

She nodded, still unsure about his motivations since she didn't make much sense of his rather vague explanation, but figured it was good enough for now. "You really think we'll find my home island?"

Jay shifted more. "I hope so, for your sake. We've gone through most of the list, but you know what they say... it's always the last place you think of looking."

* * *

By the next morning, the storm had passed. Not that the lack of lightning and thunder did much for Jay's mood. Ever since that sudden flash of memory, nightmare or whatever the hell that had been entered his mind, he'd been unable to get it out for more than a minute or two at a time. Luckily nobody seemed to notice him being preoccupied by it, or if they did they just hadn't said anything.

Sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes, he glanced at the clock. It was still kind of early, but Roufas usually came in before now to wake him up for breakfast. Figuring Magnus must have taken care of it again, he slowly crawled out of bed and changed into something he hadn't been wearing for two days and nights straight. Stopping by his cracked closet for a moment, he could hear Simoon's faint snoring from inside. Aside from yesterday, she'd always woken up around noon, and he hoped that would be the case today. He was all out of suitable food for her, so with a little luck he could make it to the store and back before she was awake.

Quietly heading to the living room, he found his two best friends out cold with static on the television. Magnus was sprawled out on the couch, with his casted leg hanging off the side, and Roufas was equally sprawled out on top of him. How Magnus could breath under that my Persian was a mystery, but Jay couldn't help chuckling at the pair of them. Switching off the television, he slipped on his shoes and left his current roommates to doze in peace.

He considered taking Magnus' motorcycle to the store, but decided against it since the garage door was sticky and far from quiet. Besides, it wasn't like he was in that much of a rush. A walk might even help him clear his head.

Starting down the sidewalk, his thoughts once again drifted back to that memory. It had to be a memory, it was far too real to him to just be a nightmare. When could it have happened though? The only forest he ever really went to was Viridian, but it didn't have Charmanders. _Then again, I did meet Simoon there..._ He considered, but decided one in that place was crazy enough, two was just plain absurd.

Trying to think back, the only place he ever remembered visiting that had fire types around was Cinnabar Island when he'd gone to see one of his cousins on a family trip. Even then, he didn't see any new ones. The only odd Pokemon he had meet there was Teal, who'd taken a shine to him for some reason. Making a mental note to stop by her little nook to say hello sometime soon since it had been a while and she lived just down the coast from Pallet, he tried to think of other places.

A hard pull on the collar of his shirt snapped him back to reality and made him stumble back a step. Barely two seconds later a car whizzed by in front of him, right where he would have been standing.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed walking around in a daze like that?" The person that grabbed him snapped.

He just blinked, looking from the car as it sped off to the girl that had saved him. "Oh... thanks, Lana."

"Is that all you have to say for yourself? Damn it Jay, you scared the hell out of me just now!" She shouted again, visibly shaking.

"I'm sorry. Really." He said trying to get his thoughts straightened out. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately, wasn't paying attention."

"That's obvious." She grumbled, trying to calm herself down. "Where are you going this early, anyhow?"

"Just to the store." He said, thinking it was a very good thing he didn't try to drive Magnus' bike this morning if he couldn't even focus on walking.

"Good, me too." Lana grabbed his wrist. "I'll go with you and make sure you don't try to walk into the middle of the street again."

"That's probably a good idea." He said with a forced laugh and she started tugging him along.

The shop wasn't too far from where they had met up, once inside they began gathering up their things, Jay doing it rather mindlessly as he went over that memory again.

"What's got you so distracted, anyway?" Lana asked as they left the store together. "You only get that look on your face when you're deep in thought about something, and I'm here to talk with if you need another opinion on it."

"Unless you know a good way to dig up memories, there's not all that much you can do." He said, staring down at the pavement. "I think I've remembered something that must have happened a long time ago, but I can't remember anything aside from bits and pieces." _Wait... pieces... that nightmare of a Charizard chasing me and the Charmeleon biting my throat... those took place in a rainy forest too, could they be connected...?_

"I can't really help you there, but if you tell me about it you might be able to remember more. Talking about things can help."

"I think it already did." He muttered, beginning to drift off again.

"That's... hey, where are you going?"

Jay looked up, then glanced at the road sign. He was on the right street. "Home, where do you think?"

"You're looking after your Mom's Ninetales?" She wondered, though he wasn't sure why.

"Of course not, why would I be?"

"Well, why did you buy Pokemon food made for fire types then?"

"Oh..." Jay stared at the bag in his hand. "...um... I bought it by mistake, I guess."

Lana frowned at him. "You really are a terrible liar, you know."

_I wish Magnus was here. _He thought, sighing. "Okay, I'll tell you, but promise you won't tell anyone. Especially not my Mother. The last thing I need to hear is 'Oh Jay, you're so good with Pokemon it's obvious you were born to be a trainer!' and have her drive me insane until she gives up again."

She chuckled, grinning at him. "That does sound like her. Alright, I promise. Now what's going on?"

"I'm... looking after a Charmander for a while." He explained, trying to be as vague as possible.

"Oh? Who does it belong to?"

"Nobody you know. It's only for a little while longer anyway, she should be back home by Monday if everything goes as planned."

Lana nodded. "Are you sure your beastly Persian won't try to eat it while you're out?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "You're never going to let that misunderstanding between Roufas and Hickory go, are you? Anyway... they get along fine. Magnus is there to keep the peace too, if he has to."

"Mag's staying with you too?" She looked surprised for a moment, then faced the path ahead. "Well, I suppose that's not too surprising... he's probably better off there right now."

Jay arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You know how big of a gossip my Mom can be, and from what I've been hearing about Mag's parents ever since his little accident... let's just say the situation at his house would be even worse than usual right now."

He nodded in understanding. It wasn't a topic brought up much between them, but they'd heard enough over the years most of it went without saying anyway. "I could use his help looking after Simoon this weekend, even if he is next to immobile. Have to ask him to stick around until then, at least."

Lana smiled and nodded. "Simoon, huh? Odd name."

"Don't look at me, I'm not the one who gave it to her."

"Can I come in and see her?"

"Huh?" Jay blinked, just now realizing they were standing at the end of his driveway. "Oh, I guess so. Don't you have to get that home though?"

She shrugged. "I didn't buy anything cold so I can afford a little detour. Not to mention after being cooped up at home all day yesterday, I could use some time with you and Mag."

"Well, alright..." He muttered hesitantly. "...just go slow when you see Simoon, alright? She's edgy around new people."

"I bet she freaked after meeting Mag then, he can get way too excited sometimes." She laughed.

"Isn't that the tru-"

Jay was barely two feet from the door when a duet of screams came from the other side. Frantically pulling the key out of his pocket and slamming it into the lock, not knowing what in the world he'd find inside that could cause a sound like that, he all but bashed the door open with Lana in tow. They both fell silent, dumbfounded by the scene in front of them.


End file.
